


I just want to be loved

by Hayate



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Supernatural
Genre: Bad Cooking, Cooking Lessons, Domestic, Light Angst, M/M, Movie Night, Post Season 8, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-19
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-27 02:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/973103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayate/pseuds/Hayate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The atmosphere of ever present love was slowly suffocating Crowley. He hated it. Until one day everything changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My second fanfiction in English, YAY :D Beware of the mistakes! I don't have a beta, so... yeah.
> 
> Anyway, the idea was bugging me for months, ever since the ending of last season. Finally, I decided to write it down. It won't be long... I hope. Three, maybe four chapters.
> 
> It starts after the end of season 8, so beware of spoilers. Also, contains a character from 'Good Omens'. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? ;)
> 
> Some angst at the beginning. And probably in the middle. And throughout the whole story. But it will get happy ending. I think. Maybe.

They didn’t keep Crowley in the dungeon for long. There was no point. The demon was weak and hunted among his kin. He posed no threat to the Winchesters nor Kevin. Still Dean insisted on keeping him chained, his movements in their lair restricted as much as possible, so he wouldn’t cause any trouble. Crowley, to everyone’s surprise, didn’t protest. He looked almost relieved when they finally let him out of the cell.

For the next couple of weeks, the demon looked subdued. He walked the corridors like a ghost, never bothering to turn on the lights and the only sound accompanying him was the jingle of the ridiculously long chain cuffed to his ankle.

Crowley never stayed in his room – Sam insisted on giving him one – for too long. He didn’t like how empty it felt. That’s why he swerved back and forth between the kitchen, where he  could find the older Winchester, or library usually occupied by Sam and Kevin. There, he sometimes amused himself by irritating the humans, careful not to agitate them too much. No matter how much fun it was to see them squirm or even scream in frustration it wasn’t worth to force them into putting him back to the dungeon. Dean already threatened to do so on more than one occasion.

Days passed slowly. But it was enough for Crowley to get used to his new kind of existence – he was no longer a pure demon but still not quite human. It was strange, to say the least. He constantly felt as if something was missing. He just didn’t know what. The feeling was bugging him especially at the beginning but he learned to ignore it.

One day, Castiel appeared at the entrance of the lair. Crowley had never before seen anybody as happy as Dean Winchester when he finally found his angel. Or former angel. After all, all angels had fallen.

“Cas, you’re alright!” Dean run up the stairs and enveloped the other in a tight hug.

Castiel looked at first surprised. Then, his expression turned to pained.

“Dean, I… It’s my fault the angels fell. I…”

“Shut up, you dumbass. We will deal with it. We  always do.” Dean let Castiel go and smiled at him. His eyes so bright, his smile so wide. It was the sight of true happiness. And Crowley couldn’t look at it any longer.

The demon went back to his room. No one even noticed his absence.

The happiness of others. Crowley should hate it and he did but for a different reason than one would think. It wasn’t because he was a demon. It was because he _wasn’t_ fully a demon. Not anymore.

Things went worse since Castiel’s arrival. Not worse for the Winchesters or the fallen angel, of course. They and Kevin seemed to be in better spirits than ever. No, things went worse for Crowley.

Dean and Castiel were so obviously in love with each other that it hurt him to look at them. Neither of them would ever admit their feelings. None even breached the subject but still, Crowley couldn’t ignore their longing looks for each other, their no regard of personal space or their constant bickering like an old married couple, which began only after few days of Castiel’s arrival. There was also the way how Dean took care of the fallen angel. Castiel, for the first time fully human, didn’t really know how human body worked or how to take care of it properly. Dean thought him. And doing that he showed so much patience that no one ever suspected him to be posses. And Crowley hated it.

He hated how happy they were. He hated that they, all of them, even Kevin and Sam, had somebody to turn to in times of need, how all of them had somebody who they loved and who loved hem in return. How, while surrounded by happiness of others, he was still alone. Love was ever present in the lair. Was it romantic or brotherly love it was there, hanging in the air, suffocating him. Warm love. Passionate love. Love. Love. Love. Everywhere. But not for him. Never for him. And he hated it.

Crowley was jealous. He would never say it out laud. He hid it well behind his mask of indifference. But he knew that Sam saw it. Sam was the only one who knew his secret. He was the only one who heard those blasted words. _I just want to be loved._ He never told anyone, not even Dean. But he knew. And he saw. He saw how Crowley suffered. And it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the look of pity that sometimes crossed the younger Winchester’s face when he looked at the demon. And that made Crowley hate the lair and its atmosphere even more.

Other fallen angels, unsurprisingly, didn’t enjoy their new lives. They wanted their Graces back. For their loss they blamed other angels. And so, battles among the fallen folk began.

There were groups, some smaller, some bigger, fighting against each other. Castiel set on a quest to stop them from killing their brothers and sisters. Needless to say, his efforts were mostly fruitless even with the help of Winchesters and the Prophet. Still, there were fallen angels who didn’t want to fight. They weren’t happy with living on earth as humans but they understood that killing their brethren would do nothing, only cause pain. Those angels came to Castiel for help and Castiel with the help of Sam, Dean, Kevin and the genius hacker, Charlie - new addition to Team Free Will as they sometimes called themselves - helped them set new lives as humans.

It all went more or less peacefully for Crowley for some time. Yes, it still hurt to look at Dean and Castiel when both were in the same room. Heck, it hurt to look at Moose and Squirrel in the same room! But the demon was slowly getting used to it. Until one day it all changed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys :)  
> I present you with the second chapter!  
> I actually had three different ideas but I decided to go with the shortest one nd least complicated one, mainly because I still don't feel confident enough to write something longer.However, if you want me to write for you the two other ideas, sometime after finishing this story, please, let me know :)  
> And remember when I said the story will be 3-4 chapters long? Well, it is now invalid information. The story will have more chapters. How many? I don't know. I just decided that it would be better if I posted shorter chapters more frequently than long chapters but 2 weeks apart each. However, if you feel that the options with longer chapters is more to your liking, please, write it down in a comment.  
> Also, this chapter owes it's strange atmosphere and phrasing to 'Welcome to Night Vale' of which I became a fan recently and cannot get Cecil's voice out of my head, narrating everything I write.

The day began as usual. Crowley was an early bird considering the habits of the rest of the residence of the bunker. It was almost 9:00 when he emerged from his bedroom and the only person he stumbled upon was the Prophet. Kevin was sitting at a table in the library, hunched over some ancient scrolls. The life of a hunter slowly grew on the young man. He no longer flinched whenever he read about some unholy creatures and what they did for fun with human intestines for fun. Pity. It had been entertaining to describe it to him in great detail, especially when the boy was eating.

As it was, Crowley sat on a free chair across Kevin and helped himself to some of the boys breakfast. Kevin glared at him but didn’t say anything, already accustomed to the demon’s antics.

“It’s tasty. Did you make it?” Crowley asked. He never did that before, the complimenting thing, not when it was honest and it was something nice, not his demons finding and murdering their target. But, hey, there’s first time for everything!

Kevin looked at him distrustfully, looking for a trap. Finally, the boy decided it was better to leave the question unanswered and went back to his studies.

Castiel walked into the library, looking slightly disheveled after sleep. The angel still hadn’t learned how to use a comb properly. But he made quite a progress with the razor. Crowley noticed only two… no, scratch that, three pieces of bloodied paper on his face.

“Cas, you have to try it. It delicious!” Crowley beaconed him to the plate.

“It is unwise to eat in the library. You could ruin a book.”

“It’s the human way. Come on.”

The ex-angel sat down at the table and reached for the plate. Crowley smiled. If Kevin was going to ignore him, he will at least give away his breakfast. And Castiel liked food. Oh, how the ex-angel loved human food! With the lack of proper exercise, it wouldn’t be long for him to become round and chubby. Crowley would _pay_ to see that. A chubby angel, how unusual!

Castiel took a bite of the waffle that Kevin made for himself. The waffles were covered in syrup and sprinkled with chocolate chips. Such a fattening meal.

Crowley watched as Castiel’s eyes lit up. And then he knew that all of the five remaining waffles will be consumed by one ex-angel probably before Kevin will notice how fast they are disappearing. Suits you right, Kevin, for not appreciating the [former] King of Hell compliments!

“Oh, waffles!” Charlie came in and stole one of the waffles. Then, she plopped herself down on a seat next to Crowley. The girl was the only person who didn’t care at all that Crowley was a demon and in turn Crowley didn’t care at all that she was a woman and he wasn’t and together they had regular gossip session behind backs of everyone. Charlie was great. And if she wasn’t a woman or a human but a being with a little more inclination to murder, Crowley may even consider the possibility that he liked her. As it was, he merely accepted her existence as the least annoying and entertaining human in the liar while not being the victim of his witty tongue.

Charlie opened up her laptop and started the browser. A couple of weeks ago she insisted on starting a website for all of the fallen angels who needed help and didn’t want to participate in fights but instead wanted a normal human life in a human community and some practical training on proper human behavior before they set out into the real human world. The website provided the ex-angels with a cell number and e-mail address which could be used to contact Charlie so she would be able to assess their situation and help them in every way possible. Unless they were the enemy in which case the Winchesters would have to fight them.

So far, the page got so much as just over one hundred hits and Crowley, together with the rest of the lair’s residents, was pretty sure that all of the hits came from Charlie checking the site every hour. This was, of course, because angels were computer-illiterate. They didn’t know how to use the internet and they were too proud to ask for help anyway. The idea was a misfire and everybody, aside from Charlie herself, knew that.

This time, however, things were different.

“We’ve got an E-MAIL!” Charlie shrieked startling Kevin and Castiel. Crowley barely raised his eyebrow in surprise. It was once again proven that in this world miracles did happen and they didn’t have to involve any of the whiny mortal brothers rising from the dead.

“Oh, please, do show it. It’s a spam, isn’t it?” Crowley asked in a sweet voice. Charlie kicked him under the table.

“No, it’s real. The subject says ‘in need of assistance’ and is signed with a weird angelic name I cannot even pronounce.”

Crowley looked at the screen. “It says Aziraphale” he said slowly, making sure Charlie could hear every syllable. “Funny, I don’t recall an angel with that name.”

Castiel’s brows furrowed. “Aziraphale? I thought he was already stationed on Earth and making a good life here.”

“What?” Dean asked as he came in. “An angel living on Earth? As in ‘living-living’ not ‘performing angelic duties among mortals-living’?”

“Both, actually. It’s hard to explain. Aziraphale was sent here as a guardian angel. He is one of the few who never served as a Warrior of the God. His mission was to spread good and Father’s love among humans. He’s been living here for over 6.000 years now. The other angels always said he went native. I do not understand why he would require our help. From what I’ve heard, he’s got a bookshop in London and he’s quite comfortable there.”

“Well, from what I see here, he’s in Oklahoma City, penniless and writing from a local Internet Cafe.” Charlie read from the screen. “He had to give the owner his watch in exchange for using the computers until we go and get him. He’s not happy about it.”

“Oh, come on! That’s over five hours drive!” Dean whined. “Couldn’t he have landed a bit closer?”

Castiel glared at him. “He asked for help, Dean. We are obliged to do so.”

“Go on, Dean.” Crowley added. “Serve your fallen angel like a trained puppy. I’ll gladly watch.”

Now both Castiel and Dean were glaring at Crowley and the demon couldn’t help but smile a little wider at their expressions. Any day he pissed off a Winchester was a good day. Pissed off angel who wouldn’t hurt him was just a bonus.

“Cas, get ready, we’re going. I will go get Sam.” With these words, Dean stormed out of the library.

“Come to think of it,” Crowley wondered, “where is the Moose? He usually gets up a bit earlier than that.”

“Oh, I might have hacked his computer and opened a few porn sites that just wouldn’t shut down.” Charlie smiled innocently.

Castiel, who was just finishing his breakfast, started chocking. Kevin patted him on the back, and both, red as tomatoes, glared daggers at the poor Nerd Queen.

“What? It was just to loosen him up a little, and boy, he needed it! He was snappy all the time recently. You had to notice. Now, he should be relaxed, and calm… like water on a spring day… or something.”

Kevin just shook his head and in resignation returned to his studies. Castiel, on the other hand, still flushed, left the library in a hurry.

Crowley looked at Charlie and saw the glint of mischief in her eyes. Yes, Charlie was definitely the kind of person he would like to see in Hell as his personal assistant. Too bad he wasn’t the King anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale meet for the firt time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have written one-shots that are longer than three chapters of this story xD Granted, they were in my native language but still. Anyway, here's new chapter, enjoy :)

Charlie was very excited to greet the new ex-angel into their lair, as usual. It would be the eighth one they were going to help one. And by ‘they’ Crowley meant the humans. He himself usually just sat there, squishing snide comments into the conversation whenever he could. Or whenever the Winchesters weren’t pissed too much – he didn’t want to go back to the dungeon, especially when there was a new ex-angel available to tease.

Charlie left her laptop in the library and disappeared to prepare the room for their new guest – who wouldn’t be arriving for at least next ten hours but that didn’t stop the girl. Crowley didn’t know where the room was. His chain didn’t reach that far and some of the smarter angels – just two so far – used it to their advantage and didn’t leave their room as just not to see the demon. Of course, that didn’t stop Crowley from making snide comments about them. The only difference was that the comments instead of being spoken right into their faces were mentioned behind their backs.

The laptop sat unused on the table. Charlie hadn’t shut it down so Crowley decided to seize the opportunity and checked the e-mail from Aziraphale. It never hurt to know a little bit about the next victim before actually meeting them.

The e-mail was nothing Crowley expected. The demon was used to angels who demanded things, not asked for them like this Aziraphale did. And the whole message was so disturbingly polite and full of ‘if-you-don’t-mind’s and ‘if-it-isn’t-any-trouble’s and yet still sounded so natural that it was, to say the least, intriguing. Aziraphale sounded like an angel who actually was nice and good, instead of a dick like the rest of the heavenly host. And Crowley couldn’t help but wonder – how an angel managed to stay that way while being stuck on Earth for over 6000 years?

Charlie must have noticed the unusual kindness of the angel in his e-mail message, too. She had the Winchester call her an hour before their ETA so that she could prepare a meal for all of them. She had never done it before for any angel.

She called it a family dinner. Crowley was surprised to find out that he was also invited. Not that the lack of invitation would stop him from going anyway but still, he didn’t think that any other members of Team Free Will Extended would show him that kind of courtesy. The demon felt strangely touched and he immediately squished that feeling deep inside of his no-longer-so-dark heart. Still, he decided to help with the dinner preparations. Charlie was a terrible cook, after all. Crowley, on the other hand, was excellent in his own opinion. And it would be fun to tell the Winchester that the food was prepared by their resident demon. After they ate it, of course.

* * *

 

It was nearly midnight when the door to the bunker opened. Crowley couldn’t see anything from his spot in the kitchen – his chain didn’t let him go any farther – but he could hear a new voice among the usual bickering of the brothers and Castiel. The new voice was rather pleasant. The owner was polite and had a characteristic London accent.

“It’s so nice to finally meat you,” Aziraphale said to Kevin and Charlie. “My brother told me a lot about you two. Both of you helped with the Leviathan problem, am I right? Such a terrible thing that was. I’m glad it's all over.”

Crowley just could see Kevin cringing at the very mention of the ordeal while Charlie was beaming.

“It was quite an adventure, actually,” the girl said. “Dean had to help me to seduce a guy at one point.”

“Shut up! It never happened!” Dean screamed and all of the others laughed.

“Come on, now, there’s nothing to be ashamed,” said Aziraphale. “You should be proud if it worked.”

Crowley didn’t know that story. He would have to ask about the details later. Preferably when Dean was out of the hearing range.

“Come on to the kitchen. The dinner is ready,” Charlie urged everyone. “And you have to meet Crowley. He’s our demon friend.”

Crowley scowled. He wouldn’t call himself their 'friend'. He had to talk with Charlie about that later.

The kitchen and the dining room were merged into one big room. Right before the Winchesters arrived, Crowley and Charlie managed to set everything up on the big table. For tonight’s dinner they had prepared a simple roasted chicken, Greek salad, mashed potatoes with dill and some fresh-made orange juice. It was nothing fancy but still so much better than pre-prepared meals and fast-food they usually got to eat.

Dean took a seat first and helped himself to the food not bothering with courtesy. Sam looked a bit embarrassed by his brother but no one paid them any attention. Everyone just looked at the new angel.

Aziraphale was rather average height, maybe a tad taller than Crowley himself. He had blond wavy hair, kind blue eyes and looked _so English_ that a person just wouldn’t believe he was also an ‘Angel of the Lord’. And also, as a bonus, he seemed to fulfill Crowley’s wish to see a chubby angel. Aziraphale wasn’t exactly fat but if he ever had been thin it had to be a while ago.

“Oh, you must be Crowley, “Aziraphale said and smiled at the demon.

“That’s me. Charmed, I’m sure,” Crowley extended his hand just to see the angel squirm, thorn between decision of being polite and touching a demon. To his surprise, Aziraphale shook his hand without hesitation.

“So nice to meet you. Castiel told me all about you.”

“All bad, I hope.”

“Most of it. But that’s what you expect when talking about demons. Still, your help with fights against Lucifer and the Leviathan was invaluable, from what I’ve gathered.”

“I did it all with my best interest in mind. It would be bad for business if someone destroyed the world.”

“Words worthy of a demon,” Aziraphale said and somehow it didn’t sound like an insult.

“You two lovebirds just sit down and eat,” Dean barked at them, mouth full of chicken.

“Why such a foul mood, Winchester?” Crowley asked in response.

“You try to be in a good mood after eleven hours of constant driving while listening to three nerds arguing about the best book of the century. Why did I ever let Sam take care of Cas’s education?”

“So it’s about books? Good, I thought you didn’t like the chicken I made especially for you.”

Dean’s jaw slackened. A piece of half chewed meat fell out of his open mouth.

“Eww, dude, that’s gross!” Sam made a disgusted face.

“Didn’t you hear that, Sammy? _Crowley_ cooked the dinner!”

“Roasted it, actually. And the salad is chopped. The only cooked part are the potatoes and they were prepared by Charlie. Though the dill was my idea.”

“That’s it. I’m done.” Dean left the kitchen in a hurry.

“Sorry about him,” Sam said to everyone. “Sometimes, he doesn’t know how to behave.”

“Let’s just eat, alright?” Charlie clapped her hands. “Aziraphale, would like to you sit next to me?”

“Of course,” answered the angel.

All of them took their places. Kevin sat down next to Sam, Sam next to Cas and Cas next to Charlie. That left Crowley with three choices: a place alone, somewhere farther down the table, a place next to Kevin or one next to Aziraphale.

“Come on, sit down here, my dear.” Aziraphale beaconed Crowley to the chair next to him. It was probably some kind of pity gesture since Kevin made a face when he realized that there was a free place next to him. The kid still hadn’t forgiven Crowley for possessing his mother. Or maybe for any of the other ordeals that Crowley made him suffer through. The demon didn’t know and didn’t care. He sat down next to Aziraphale.

* * *

 

Castiel didn’t stay long. He ate some of the chicken – and salad after Sam forced him to – and than left… to find Dean, probably. He took a bottle of beer from the fridge and it surely wasn’t for him.

“Tell your loverboy I didn’t poison his food!” Crowley shouted after him. He was sure that Dean already thought of the possibility but denying it would make him worry about it more.

Aziraphale looked at him with suspicion.

“If you tried to poison the food, you would have to poison all of it, not just Dean’s.”

“Smart and handsome,” Crowley replied without missing a beat and Aziraphale’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. For some reason after seeing that, Crowley got the urge to tell the truth: “I didn’t poison anything. I just like to mess with the Winchesters.”

“It’s not very nice now, is it?” the angel scolded him lightly.

“No, it isn’t,” Crowley agreed with him. “But that’s who I am.”

“And we all love you for that!” Charlie added cheerfully. Kevin snorted and didn’t even try to hide it.

“Well, I love you, too, Tablet-Dictionary, even though you didn’t say a word to me for the whole day.”

Kevin didn’t even look at him, only stabbed his last piece of salad as if it personally offended him.

“Is it always like that here?” Aziraphale asked no one in particular.

“It’s always like that around Crowley,” Charlie answered lightly. “Don’t worry, you will get used to it. Or not. Either way, tomorrow we will start working on sending you back to England so you won’t have to stay here long.” The girl patted Aziraphale on the shoulder.

“Or you may like it so much that you will want to stay here forever,” added Crowley with, what he hoped was, ominous smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long.

There was a plant on Crowley’s night-table in his bedroom. The plant, even with the lack of sunlight, somehow managed to grow amazingly high after Charlie had given it to him two weeks ago. The girl had said that she didn’t like plants herself and since it was a gift from her last girlfriend – which she had fond memories of – she couldn’t just throw it away or sell it.

The plant looked like a small tree. Crowley didn’t know much about flora in general, unless it was used in kitchen, but Charlie told him it was a ficus. Apparently, it could grow to be quite tall if taken care of properly. Crowley, also, didn’t know much about proper care of plants but everyday he would water his ficus while explaining to it in detail what would happen to it if it failed to grow nicely. The ficus seemed to listen to him and grew nicely. Crowley considered the possibility to acquire more plants, just to see if his strategy would work on all of them.

Crowley was watering his plant when someone knocked on the door. Nobody ever knocked on his door. People liked to avoid him as much as possible.

“Come in!”

“Oh, so it’s your room?” Aziraphale walked inside looking around the bedroom. “What a nice plant you have here.”

“It’d better be nice. It knows what will happen to it if it failed.”

Aziraphale laughed quietly. “Only a demon would threaten a plant.”

They stood for a couple of moments not saying anything. Aziraphale was still admiring the ficus, while Crowley was growing increasingly irritated.

“So, you want something or did you just come to stand here?”

“Oh, right! I was looking for you, my dear. You see, I realized that as a new human I would need to take care of my basic needs.”

“Please, don’t tell me you need my help to teach you how to use the potty,” Crowley whined. “Go to the Squirrel, he has experience. Castiel doesn’t even need his help anymore.”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Aziraphale’s cheeks flushed a nice shade of red. “I was talking about food. I need to learn how to cook.”

“Cook? Seriously?”

“Yes, I’m serious. I don’t know how to cook. You do. I thought maybe, if you have some spare time that is, you would consider it to help me to learn some basics. I mean, you’re quite a good cook, despite being a demon. And I don’t think any other person here knows how to prepare a decent meal.”

Crowley had to agree with that statement. But why would he help an angel? The last time he tried that – okay, he had his own interest in mind, so what? – he got tricked and had to hide away from that angel in a caravan in the middle of nowhere.

“Sorry, luv, I don’t help people unless there’s something for me in it.”

Surprisingly, Aziraphale smiled at that. “I thought so. You see, the thing is you _will_ benefit from it! Sam and Dean will see what a nice person you’ve become since you’re living here and maybe they will trust you a little more. Maybe, they will even let you go off that chain.”

“It won’t be that simple. I would have to be quite convincing and it really would require a lot of skill to fool the Moron Duo. But I like the way you think, angel. I think we’ve got a deal.” Crowley returned the smile.

* * *

Teaching an angel how to cook was easier said than done. For some reason Aziraphale had the stupid idea that to cook something, all you had to do was mix the ingredients and put them into the oven. And that included making everything from toasts to tea.

“Are you really trying to tell me that you lived in England for 6 thousand years and you don’t know how to make tea?”

“I never needed to heat it.” Aziraphale said in his defense. “I just poured water into the mug, put a teabag inside and wish it hot.”

“Of course you did. Now, though, you will have to do it traditional way. Just pour some water into the kettle and boil it… You have to turn it on. Just switch the switch.” Crowley thanked whoever was listening that the Winchesters had an electric kettle in their lair. He didn’t even want to think how hard it would be to start teaching with using the stove.

“While the water is boiling, you can set up the cups. After you’ve done that, we will try making some sandwiches.”

“Hey, guys!” Charlie walked into the kitchen, happy and full of energy, her laptop in her arms. “What’s up?”

“Crowley is teaching me how to cook!” Aziraphale answered brightly.

“No, I’m teaching you how to make tea. With your lack of knowledge in the subject I don’t think we will get to cooking within the next month.”

“Oh, can I join the cooking lessons? I am almost burned those potatoes yesterday.”

“I know you did, I was there, remember?”

“A month?” Aziraphale asked. “Am I even going to be here for so long?”

“With a bit of luck, no.” Crowley answered smoothly.

“Don’t worry about that. You can stay here as long as you want. I’m sure Sam and Dean won’t mind. And if they do, I can tell them that I have some troubles with faking a passport for you.”

“That’s so very nice of you.” Aziraphale smiled.

“Yeah, that’s bloody fantastic.” Crowley muttered under his breath.

* * *

The breakfast that day was a piece of art. Crowley, Aziraphale and Charlie had some fun making sandwiches together. They decided to use a bit of almost everything they could find in the fridge. They made some unusual sandwitches with ham and cheese, eggs, bacon (prepared by Crowley who didn’t let neither Aziraphale nor Charlie use the frying pan yet), some leftovers of chicken, all of that bathed in mustard and mayo. All of it at the same time. Aziraphale insisted on putting in some lettuce, corn and green peas to make breakfast healthier. Some of the sandwiches had special surprise of bits of chili peppers.

The sandwiches, even those with peppers, were surprisingly tasty, though it was hard to keep all of the ingredients from falling out of the bread. Corn and peas composed quite nicely with the chicken and lettuce crunched pleasantly between teeth together with bacon.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Charlie suddenly said.

“You ate like three sandwiches, don’t be surprised,” answered Crowley who also ate as much but, well, he was a demon.

“I know,” Charlie whined. “It was a mistake. I’m going back to my room to lie a bit.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. You have to help clean the dishes. This kitchen looks as if tornado decided it needed a breakfast.”

“Come on, Crowley, give me a break. I will be back later to help, I promise.”

“Go, lie down, Charlie,” said Aziraphale. “I will take care of everithing.”

“Thanks, Az, you’re the best!” Charlie hugged the ex-angel quickly and run out of the room.

“You’re spoiling her, you know that, right?” Crowley asked.

“She’s still young. She needs some time for herself. Come on, we need to clean this mess.”

Crowley sighed and got up.

It didn’t even occur him that he was voluntary helping an angel without any benefit from it until they put the last plate on the dish drier. He couldn’t leave Aziraphale to do all the work by himself – the angel was as bad at cleaning as he was at cooking – but he could just direct him. Well, it was too late now to change anything.

Just as they were putting the rest of the sandwiches to the fridge – they made _a lot_ of them – Dean and Castiel entered the kitchen. Castiel had his hair wet and in a mess. Dean looked frustrated and he immediately opened the fridge to grab a beer.

“Rough morning?” Crowley asked. “Did Castiel have some problems with using the shower, _again_? Your shirt is a bit wet, Squirell.”

“Water was too cold. I couldn’t rise the temperature.”

“And Dean helped you keep warm? How noble of you, Winchester.”

“Hey, don’t make it sound dirty, Crowley!” Dean warned. “The tap got stuck.”

“That’s why I keep telling you to do some renovations here, in the lair. Everything here is old and broken.”

“And you are one of the oldest relics,” Dean shot back. “And it’s not a lair. It’s the Batcave!”

“You see how easy it is to annoy him?” Crowley said to Aziraphale. “You should try it sometime.”

“I don’t think you…” Aziraphale started saying but then Dean shouted:

“What are those?” Dean took out the plate with the sandwiches.

“Breakfast.”

“It’s not just breakfast. It’s breakfast for kings! Superbreakfast! I would think twice about the lettuce, though. And corn, and that other green stuff. But the rest? Awesome! Who made this?”

“Aziraphale and Charlie,” Crowley answered quickly.

“Dude, if you keep on cooking like that, I think we’re going to keep you.”

Aziraphale tried to protest, but Crowley covered his mouth. Dean took one of the _special_ chili-sandwiches.

“We’ll be in the library,” the demon announced. “Bon appétit.”

Crowley took Aziraphale’s hand and led him out of the kitchen.

“But Crowley, you helped us with breakfast,” Aziraphale said quietly.

“It’s better if he doesn’t know that, trust me.”

Crowley waited. Aziraphale waited with him, even though he clearly had no idea what he was waiting for.

It didn’t take long.

Dean screamed: “Oh, fu…!” Sound of glass hitting glass drowned out the rest of the word.

Crowley started laughing. He only laughed more when Castiel said: “Dean, what’s going on? Is it the sandwich? Mine tastes fine.”

“Crowley, what happened?” Aziraphale asked.

“Dean took the chili-sandwich.”

“Almost every sandwich had some chili in it.”

“Yes, but that one had whole two peppers! I made it for myself. I like spicy food. But I wasn’t about to stop Dean from eating it. I lost my sandwich but it was worth it.”

Aziraphale was looking at him for a few moments, completely unimpressed. “You’re really bored here, aren’t you?” the angel finally asked.

Crowley sighed, suddenly feeling really tired. “You have no idea. I was the King of Hell, you know? Now I’m just a house demon-pet and I hate it.” Words left Crowley’s mouth before he realized what he was saying. He cursed quietly. Ever since the failed purification process, slips like that were becoming more and more common. “Never mind. I’m going to take a shower or something. I can smell the washing-up liquid all over me.”

Crowley left Aziraphale alone in the hall, never looking back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay. I really am. I started new school a bit later than my classmates and I couldn't find time with how much I had to do for school [from what I gather schooling in my country looks quite different than in USA so I don't know if my explanation is enough for you]. But you had new episodes of Supernatural to keep you occupied :)
> 
> Now, I can see that my story is different from canon. A lot. Let's just say that the angels in my story lost their Graces but that gave them their own bodies [Aziraphale had the same body for the last 6.000 years].

Crowley was sitting in his room, reading a book. It wasn’t that he was avoiding anyone after his slip up and showing his feelings (to an ex-angel of all things). No, he just needed some time for himself.

Since nobody cared to check on him he managed to read half of the book and bury his emotions deep inside where no-one would be able to find them, not even himself. At least, that's he hoped he did.

Crowley would spend the rest of the day reading if it weren’t for an enthusiastic redhead who invaded his room without knocking around lunch-time.

“It’s time for another cooking lesson!” Charlie chirped tugging Crowley by his arm off the bed. “Come on, you don’t want to keep your angel waiting.”

“He’s not ‘my angel’,” Crowley muttered brushing her hand off his arm. He adjusted his shirt and put the book down on the night table next to his plant. “And aren’t there enough sandwiches from breakfast? You can eat those.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be such an old grump. Cooking is fun! Let’s go cook something!”

“Fine,” Crowley agreed eventually but he made sure to show how displeased he was.

Charlie beamed at him and grabbing his arm once again led him to the kitchen.

Aziraphale was already sitting at the table with a cooking book in his hands. When he heard Crowley and Charlie entering the room he raised his head and waved at them in greeting. “Look at what I’ve found in the library,” he said rising the book. “We could try some new recipes from it.”

Crowley snatched the book from his hands.

“Didn’t you listen to me this morning? First you have to learn the basics. You didn’t even know how to make tea until few hours ago.” Crowley reminded him.

Aziraphale’s cheeks turned slight shade of pink but the smile never left his face. With eyes full of hope he looked up at Crowley.

“But after we finish with the basics we can try some of the recipes, right?”

Crowley found himself unable to look away from those deep pools of blue that were Aziraphale’s eyes. Some may say that Castiel’s eyes had the most amazing blue shade but those people obviously never met Aziraphale. Crowley wasn’t a person who cared much about appearance of people but he could certainly appreciate real beauty. Not that it mattered in any way now.

“ _After_ we finish with the basics,” the demon repeated putting stress on the first word. “And it will probably take us ages to get there. For lunch we’re making something simple. I think a salad would be the best choice.” He decided.

“So a salad it is!” Charlie agreed loudly and together with Aziraphale they raided the fridge in search of the ingredients.

Crowley leaned on the table and sighed deeply. Aziraphale didn’t mention his earlier slip up. The angel behaved as usual, which was good. Crowley didn’t have to worry at least about him.

The ingredients for the salad soon strew over the whole table. It was obvious that neither Charlie nor Aziraphale had any concept in their minds of how their salad should look. Crowley noticed, among other things, some pepperoni, apples and even chocolate.

“Okay, stop!” the demon said before any of them could take something even more ridiculous from the fridge. Aziraphale and Charlie looked at him startled. The angel was holding a couple of eggs in his hands while Charlie nested a can of whipped cream. “Do you remember the salad we ate yesterday?” Both nodded at the question. “Good. We’re going to make that salad. Now, put away all of the things you are sure _weren’t_ in the salad.”

Half of the things quickly disappeared from the table. Crowley took some spices, together with olive oil from the shelf and a big bowl from the cupboard.

“Now, do exactly as I say.” He instructed.

* * *

The salad was quite a masterpiece, to say the least. Even though Crowley had been keeping a close eye on Aziraphale and Charlie as they chopped and mixed ingredients, somehow they still managed to add fruits into their otherwise vegetable salad. The dressing, however, was mild enough to make the taste passable, although the whole thing looked quite unappetizing. Aziraphale and Charlie either didn’t care or were too stubborn to admit defeat and they ate the whole thing in less than ten minutes. Crowley was amazed. He had taken a bite of the salad earlier but he was sure he couldn’t stomach more, despite being a demon.

Once again, the duty of cleaning up the dishes fell on Crowley and Aziraphale while Charlie scooted away claiming that she had some ‘computer stuff… duties to fulfill’. Aziraphale clearly didn’t mind but Crowley was starting to get irritated with the girl’s attitude especially since he saw her winking at him and pointing at Aziraphale when she was making her excuse. The angel, of course, was oblivious to all of it and was humming happily cleaning of the table.

This time Crowley resolved to just instructing him. He wouldn’t be caught dead helping an angel willingly ever again. Besides, Aziraphale had to learn to clean his mess by himself sooner or later.

“Thank you again for helping me learn how to cook,” Aziraphale said, hand deep in the sink, trying to scrub some dried dressing from a spoon.

“It was a deal. I help you and hope it will help me.” Crowley shrugged. “Though, I must say, I’ve never imagined it would be so hard.”

“I’m sorry,” Aziraphale replied after a short pause.

“No, it’s my fault. I could have said ‘no’ but I didn’t. Now, I have to live with the consequences.”

“I’m not talking about the lessons.” The angel said quietly, his shoulders hunched. “I’m talking about earlier. I know living like this must be hard on you and yet I brought up the subject, albeit unintentionally. For that, I am sorry.”

Crowley blinked not knowing what to say in response. And then blinked again, surprised at the fact that _he wasn’t_ even surprised that Aziraphale cared.

“It’s not that bad, living here.” the demon said once he found his voice. “I mean, I get to tease Winchesters and his angel whenever I want. Kevin is also fun to irritate and Charlie can be an amazing accomplice when she feels like it.”

Crowley didn’t know why he said those things. Those were the things he often said to himself when he felt down while being imprisoned in the lair. He never voiced them, though. Those were for him and him only. And yet, when Aziraphale looked at him somewhat relieved after hearing this, Crowley himself felt a little bit better.

“That salad was nearly inedible” Aziraphale laughed quietly. Crowley was surprised at a sudden change of the subject. “I’m a terrible cook. I think I will be needing more lessons than I previously anticipated. You wouldn’t mind if I stayed here a little longer for you to teach me more, would you?”

“Well, I certainly won’t be happy about it,” Crowley said snidely, “but I guess I won’t have much choice if the Winchesters agree for you to stay here.”

Aziraphale beamed at those words and happily returned to washing the dishes. Crowley found himself smiling at him for no reason. He didn’t know why the prospect of Aziraphale staying longer in the lair made him feel better. He suspected it had something to do with the fact that since he was teaching him and Charlie cook he could boss them around and there would be no bossing once Aziraphale left. The longer the ex-angel stayed there the longer Crowley could feel as he had control over something and it was a good feeling.

* * *

Crowley kept on smiling at Aziraphale’s turned back. He was so immersed in his own musing that he didn’t even notice Charlie hovering around the entrance to the kitchen with a small smile of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I will be updating on the status of the story on my tumblr: http://sylwinka.tumblr.com/ Feel free to visit and say 'hi' :)
> 
> Just a short question unrelated to the story. 
> 
> Spoilers for the series below:
> 
> Do you think Gadreel could be some kind of 'Supernatural's version of Aziraphale? I mean, Metatron said he was the guardian of the gates Eden [or something like that]. He could be like Aziraphale, right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit longer than the others... but that's good right? Also I added some tags since the whole story looks quite domestic and the main theme for the most part were cooking lessons.
> 
> We have some Destiel in this chapter and some more angst. And Kevin finally says something - do you realize he hadn't spoken a word in the whole fic up until now? It's terrible.

That night was a movie night. Earlier that day, during the dinner, Charlie decided they needed a little break from all the work, watch a blockbuster, eat junk-food and simply relax. Her idea was eagerly accepted. In the evening, around 9 o’clock, all residents of the liar gathered in the library which for the time being had been transformed into a small home theatre.

The biggest TV Charlie had found in the lair (in Dean’s room, to be precise) was standing on a table against the wall. Chairs surrounded it in a half-circle. A small coffee-table was placed in the middle providing a place for pizza, pop-corn and cans of soda.

Everyone was cheerful as they took their places – Kevin as far away from Crowley as he could get, Castiel, still fascinated by human technology, as close to the TV as he could get and Dean as close to Castiel as he could get without anyone noticing – futile attempt on his part, Crowley thought to himself.

Crowley sat in a chair somewhere more to the back. It wasn’t that he tried not to inconvenience anybody with his presence – hell forbid – he just really wanted to enjoy a movie. He hadn’t watched anything in what felt like ages and he considered himself as somewhat of a movie connoisseur. It was such a shame that his room didn’t have a TV. He should talk about that with the Winchesters in the near future. For the moment, however, he just wanted to enjoy the show.

Unsurprisingly, Aziraphale sat next to him. Crowley over the past few days had gotten used to the ex-angel’s somewhat clingy behavior.

It was the sixth day of Aziraphale’s visit and the Winchesters had yet to mention his prolonged stay. Crowley knew that the silence was Charlie’s doing. The girl was clever, he had to admit. And cunning. The boys trusted her too much. So when Charlie said that she couldn’t send Aziraphale to England just yet, they never questioned her words. Crowley in fact had heard her explain to Dean that English passports were harder to forge and that’s why Aziraphale had to stay longer. Besides, she had to create a whole new persona for Aziraphale in the English government’s databases and that always takes time. Crowley didn’t bother to point out that Aziraphale had been living in London for quite some time and that he did have all of the things Charlie claimed she had to falsify [with the exception of the passport, of course].

“I wonder what we are going to watch.” Aziraphale said excitedly. “I haven’t seen a movie in ages.”

“Tell me about it,” Crowley grumped taking a slice of pizza. “Ever since I am locked in here I haven’t even heard a radio show, not to mention a real movie.”

“No, I meant what I said quite literary,” the angel responded. “The last time I saw a movie it was in 1895 in France. The Lumière brothers were screening one of their productions. I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.”

Crowley was speechless. “You mean to tell me that you never been to cinema after that? Never seen a movie on TV? Hell, not even a commercial?”

“Oh, I’ve seen plenty of commercials. There’re so many of them on those screens on the streets. I just haven’t watched any films.”

“But you said you had a computer at your bookshop.”

“So?” Aziraphale clearly didn’t see any connection.

Crowley sighed. “Never mind, angel. I see that in between your cooking lessons we need to take care of your education in movies.”

“May I join you in that?” out of the blue Castiel joined their conversation. “Dean says I need some lessons in cinematographic studies.”

Crowley scowled. For some reason the idea of Castiel joining the group filled him with unpleasant feelings. Normally, he would attribute it to the fact that Castiel had been an angel. But it wouldn’t be true. Aziraphale also had been an angel and somehow the idea of spending more time with _him_ seemed almost pleasant. Crowley decided it was probably because Castiel betrayed him, threatened him and was in general a pain in the ass while Aziraphale was nothing but kind the whole time they knew each other.

“Why won’t you have your boyfriend watch movies with you?”

“Dean gets irritated every time I am alone with him in the room. I do not understand why. We have never encountered such problems.”

“Oh, my.” Aziraphale smiled knowingly. He looked at Crowley, his eyes glinting in the dim light. Crowley had no problem with deciphering that look mainly because he thought exactly the same thing: Dean must have finally realized his feelings for Castiel but he didn’t know how to deal with them. And the poor angel was clueless.

“Of course you can join us, Castiel.” Crowley said louder than it was necessary. “Spending time with you will be a pleasure.”

“Well, thank you, Crowley.” Castiel smiled in response, looking genuinely grateful.

Crowley grinned at him and then turned to Dean who at this point was glaring at him quite openly. Crowley’s smile turned even wider.

Castiel turned back towards the screen. The movie still wasn’t ready yet. Charlie put the disc in its place, but they couldn’t skip the commercials.

“What are you planning?” Aziraphale asked quietly, a slight note of suspicion in his voice.

“Well, I’m making Dean jealous, of course.” Crowley replied even more softly, careful for Dean not to hear his words.

“Why?”

“I want to see how he will react. He can be rather possessive when pushed too hard.”

“So you are just going to play with his and poor Castiel’s feelings?” Aziraphale summed up. He looked and sounded a little disappointed making Crowley feel guilty in return. The demon promptly squashed that feeling.

“Don’t act so surprised. I never pretended to do anything for somebody else’s convenience… Okay, I did,” Crowley backtracked, “multiple times, actually. But that doesn’t mean it was real. Besides, who knows? Maybe it will force Dean to action. I don’t know. Nobody does. What I know is that I will have some fun and that’s all that matters to me.”

Aziraphale didn’t look as if he were satisfied with his answer. The look of disappointment never left his face as he turned towards the screen.

The movie was already starting and Charlie was ‘sush’ing everybody. It was one of her favorites, she had said. About nerds who saved the world while being nerds, or something along those lines. All Crowley could see were giant robots fighting giant monsters from the sea. And two brothers, one of whom died. Such a shame. But Crowley didn’t pay much attention to the movie. For as much as he had been excited earlier, after his small talk with Aziraphale he didn’t feel like watching anything. He would have gone back to his room if he wasn’t so stubborn to sit through the movie just to annoy Kevin. Really, the kid was just too easy to piss off.

* * *

After the movie was over, and not everyone lived happily ever after, Charlie picked the disc and asked:

“You wonna watch something else? I’ve got some more science-fiction and fantasy. Oh, and comedy. Dr. Horrible is awesome.”

“Why would a movie about terrible physician be considered good? Does the character get punished for his deeds?” Castiel asked titling his head.

“No, Cas.” Charlie rushed to explain. “It’s just his nickname, you see? He’s not a real doctor.”

“Like Dean is not a real federal agent?” Castiel asked seriously.

Charlie squealed. “You’re just adorable. Dean, if you don’t want him, can I have him?”

Dean shot her surprised look. “Hell no!” Then, his mind catching up with his overreaction, Dean added: “You would just turn him into one of those fat no-life guys who just sit in front of the computer screen, playing COD and… and… Just no! Besides, he doesn’t even know how to turn on a computer.”

“Oh, Dean-o, you’re afraid he would be better at FPSes than you are.”

“He wouldn’t. Okay, fine. Take him. Do whatever you want with him. I don’t care.” After saying those words, Dean stormed out of the room.

Castiel was left in his chair with a hurt look on his face.

“He didn’t mean it like that, Cas.” Sam assured putting his hand on the angel’s shoulder. “He will come around, you know that.”

“Yes, Sam, thank you.” Castiel replied looking at his lap. His voice was scratchier than usual. Looking at him like that made Crowley feel uncomfortable. Even more so when Aziraphale stood up from his own chair and moved to stand next to Castiel.

“Would you like to take a walk with me, brother?” Aziraphale asked kindly.

“We’re not supposed to leave the bat… the bunker.”

“We’re not going out, little one. We’re just going to go around and have a small talk. I still haven’t seen most of this place. Maybe you will show me some rooms.”

“I…” Castiel still seemed uncertain but one look at Aziraphale’s kind but stern face made him reconsider his decision. “Alright.” Castiel raised from his chairs and both angels left the room.

The room was filled with tense silence. The rest of residents were looking at each looking at each other uncomfortably.

“Drats!” Finally, it was Charlie who broke the silence. “I messed that up, didn’t I?”

“You didn’t mean to.” Sam assured her.

“Um, guys, am I missing something here?” Kevin asked from his far-away-from-Crowley place at the opposite side of the room.

“It’s really simple, Kev. We landed in the middle of a Brazilian soap opera. The angel is in love with his human and the human is in love with his angel but they won’t admit their feelings for each other.” Crowley supplied him with the information. At shocked expressions from the rest of the gang he realized he was the first person to say it out loud. No-one ever talked about the possibility of Castiel and Dean having feelings for each other and not making it sound like a joke. Well, Crowley did make it sound like a joke but he was serious about the feelings part, so yes, he was first.

“Really?” For a few precious seconds Kevin forgot that he was supposed to hate Crowley’s guts in lieu of being completely stunned. “When did it happen?”

“I wasn’t here from the very beginning so I can’t be sure but I believe for the Feathers it happened around the time when he pulled Dean out from Hell.”

“Yeah, and I think Dean was deep even before breaking the last seal. I didn’t have time to think about it too deeply back than, but Dean was pretty broken up after Cas died.”

“Really?” Charlie frowned. “From the novels, I thought Dean fell in love with him after you two had that talk and didn’t hunt together so instead Dean teamed up with Cas.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was before that.”

“Do I want to know what novels is she talking about?” Kevin asked, once again looking at Crowley.

“They are quite interesting. You should read them. Charlie has the whole set on her laptop.”

* * *

Sam and Charlie were still discussing the topic of when 'did Dean fall in love with Castiel?', and Crowley was giving Kevin passwords for Charlie’s laptop – ‘Remember, you didn’t get them from me. Officially I know nothing about her passwords’ – together with links to the download side in case Kevin wanted to contaminate his own computer with Edlund’s ‘art when Castiel and Aziraphale came back to the library.

Once again, the room became shrouded in silence. Castiel came back to his normal self. With quizzical look on his face he studied the people in the room.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong!” Charlie said. “We were just… um…”

“We were just talking about which movie we’re going to watch next.” Crowley finished for her smoothly. “We didn’t know if you were coming back but I’m glad you are here. If you’re going to join our little movie club, you have to know the basics. Today, we’re starting with _Star Wars._ ” He said, hoping that Charlie possessed the movie in her library. “After all, you have to know what happened ‘in a galaxy far, far away’ if you want to be up to date with modern culture. Especially since they are making more episodes now. Sit down and don’t talk.”

Castiel obediently took his place and didn’t question anything. Unlike the other ex-angel in their midst.

Aziraphale was looking at Crowley. He didn’t say anything aloud but, once again, Crowley had no problem with reading his expression. ‘What are you up to?’ Aziraphale’s burrowed brows seemed to ask. ‘I’m worried you’re plotting something nasty. Something that would make me feel disappointed in you’ worried eyes seemed to say.

Crowley winked at him, hoping that it would be enough to settle his doubts but it made the angel look even more worried.

When the movie started, Crowley discreetly moved closer to Aziraphale and whispered.

“I have a plan.”

“It seems quite obvious. I’m worried about how your actions will influence poor Castiel. Are you planning to help him or do you have just your own interest in mind?” Aziraphale threw his words back at him.

“My own interest.” Crowley answered without missing a beat. “I have had enough of that Unresolved Sexual Tension between Feathers and the Squirrel. The sooner we do something about it, the sooner I get to eat my dinner without having an urge to hit something every time they look at each other longingly across the table. I mean, they spend most of the time in the same rooms. It’s some kind of a cursed miracle that they haven’t jumped each other already.”

Aziraphale’s smile was brilliant.

“That’s very… ‘demonic’ of you.” The angel said clearly meaning something different by the word he chose to use. Crowley let it slide. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘we’? Do you want me to help you?”

“But, of course! It’s your brother’s love life we’re trying to make exist here. You surely don’t expect me to do all the work by myself, do you?”

“I’ll help you. It’s a deal.”

“I usually seal deals with a kiss.” Crowley responded with a grin.

“Not in public, my dear,” Aziraphale answered, clearly without thinking and then promptly blushed. He averted his eyes from Crowley and looked at the TV where the movie was already finishing with the introduction.

Crowley sat for a few minutes just looking at him, trying to decide how to react. His mind came blank. Instead of overworking himself, he also chose to watch the movie. They spend rest of the evening in quite comfortable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The movie they were watching is 'Pacific Rim' - one of my favorites. If you like science-fiction and cute little nerds just go watch it [if you hadn't seen it already, that is :) ]. Other movies mentioned are 'Star Wars' and 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' [also, watch them :) ].
> 
> I still don't know how long this story is going to be. When I started it, I thought it's going to be 5 chapters long top. Now it's 6 chapters long and I can assure you it's not going to end in chapter 7. But, I will try to finish it before the next episode of the series :)


	7. Chapter 7

The plan was set into motion. It wasn’t much of a plan, really. Crowley was good at condemning souls to eternal suffering in Hell – or, more accurately, not eternal but only until they turned into demons themselves – and not making people realize that their love is requited and that they can live happily ever after. And if not happily ever after at least until the next apocalypse happens. He would say ‘until death does them apart’ but death didn’t seem to be something final in the Winchesters and Castiel's cases.

Anyway the plan was set into motion. Together with Charlie they set up every evening for the ‘cinematography studies’ as Castiel stubbornly kept calling their newly set tradition of movie nights. They started with watching the classics – it took them only two days to finish all of the ‘Star Wars’ movies and later they moved on to ‘The Godfather’ on Crowley’s insistence. As it turned out, both Charlie and Crowley had different opinions regarding what exactly was considered as 'classic' so instead of arguing about which old movie they should watch next, they decided to go over all of the Marvel movies as they seemed to be the most popular ones now.

In the meantime Charlie had explained to the Winchesters and Kevin that Aziraphale was going to stay in the bunker longer than anticipated because of the cooking lessons and movie nights. She had explained that together with Crowley she was trying to prepare the former angel to live as a human as best as they could, just as Dean was trying to do for Castiel. Kevin didn’t really care. He liked Aziraphale – they were having pretty interesting discussions about books in their free times – and was okay with him staying longer. Sam had seemed suspiciously happy at the prospect. Dean, being outvoted had had to agree although he was clearly unhappy with the fact that Castiel was spending more and more time with Aziraphale every day.

“I think it’s working,” Charlie said excitedly to Crowley and Aziraphale one morning when they were making breakfast. Over the days both she and Aziraphale were getting more proficient at cooking and Crowley finally let them use the stove to make some pancakes. The demon was supervising their work but for the most part didn’t interfere. “Dean is getting really jealous. Yesterday he wanted to know what kinds of movies we’re watching. After that he immediately explained that he wanted to know if it was anything he hadn’t seen yet so he could join. When I said we were watching the ‘X-Men’ series he seemed disappointed. I told him he could join us anyway but he declined. I think he didn’t want it to seem as if he were interested in our little group because of Castiel. He also asked me to let him know what we’re going to watch later and if it’s something new for him, he will join us.”

“That means we need to find a movie Dean hadn’t already seen,” Aziraphale nodded to himself. “Do you think we should try a romance?”

Crowley scoffed at the idea. “That would be too obvious,” he said. “I know both of them are dense but we can’t scare them off. We should start with something more subtle.”

“But we are being subtle now!” Charlie argued. “We’re trying to make them see that they like spending time with each other and they miss each other when they are apart. And it’s not working.”

“That’s because it’s not what we’re doing. They know they are in love. What they don’t know is that their feelings are requited. We let Castiel join movie nights to make Dean jealous and to force him to act on his feelings. And it’s not working. We need a different approach.”

“Then what do you suggest we do now, my dear?” Aziraphale flicked the pancake. It was blackened on one side but the angel didn’t care.

“I’m thinking.”

“How about we try to make _Castiel_ jealous?” Charlie proposed. “I mean, maybe it's Castiel who should make the first move.” She flipped her own pancake but it fell apart on her spatula. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath.

“You don’t want to make him angry, believe me,” Crowley opposed the idea. “Been there and done that. He can be quite scary when he’s in his ‘angel of the lord’ mode. I heard he was very close to smiting a clerk when he couldn’t buy any pie for Dean because the shop run out.”

“Really? I should talk with him about anger management exercises. He could use some.” Aziraphale took his burned pancake of off the pan and poured some mix for the next one. “So what do you propose we do, my dear?” he repeated his earlier question.

“To be honest, at this point I’m considering locking them in a room together. Things happen when you’re stuck with somebody and can’t get away."

Both Aziraphale and Charlie stopped to consider the idea. It resulted in another couple of burned pancakes and Crowley sighed deeply when dark smoke begun to rise from both of the pans.

“It was just a joke. You really shouldn’t take everything I say seriously.”

“But it could work” Charlie argued. “It always works in fanfiction.”

“What’s fanfiction?” Aziraphale asked tossing carelessly his burned pancake on the plate.

“It’s rubbish.” Crowley said. “You’re better off not knowing, believe me.”

“You know, that Supernatural series of Edlund has pretty large fandom. Fans write thousands of stories. Some of them are about you, Crowley!” Charley winked at him.

Crowley groaned. The conversation was getting out of hand. Charlie and Aziraphale were clearly incompetent to deal with the matter of love affair between Dean and Castiel. Crowley himself, the great mastermind, couldn’t think of a way to make the stupid buffoons face their feelings. He was supposed to be the brains of their little operation and the task was proving itself to be too much for him to handle.

The whole situation was starting to get on his nerves. Why did he ever agree to do this in the first place? The answer to that question was burning another pancake. Aziraphale. Stupid former angel hadn’t even had to ask to make Crowley help. Crowley still couldn’t get it. Truth be told, he decided not to even try to understand it for fear he may not like the answer that much. And there were only two possible answers. He either was too much human now or Aziraphale’s influence on him was too great. Crowley had no idea which was worse.

“We can set up a date for them.” Charlie had another idea. “Cook a dinner, bake a pie. Buy beer. Lots and lots of beer.”

“Now you’re taking ideas from movies. Can’t you think of anything by yourself?”

“Well, you can’t!” Charlie shot back. “At least I’m trying to come up with something.”

“Please, don’t argue!” Aziraphale put a stop to their dispute. “We all have the same goal here. We need to start working like a team.”

“Az, you’re right, I’m so sorry.” Charlie apologized. Aziraphale smiled at her and then looked pointedly at Crowley.

“I’m not apologizing for anything, _Az_. But… since we can’t think of anything else at the moment we could try the plan with the dinner. I will even let you cook it. Maybe they will bond over how terrible their food tastes. Although, I will take care of the pie by myself. I’m pretty sure Dean would kill anyone who messes up a pie. As fun as it would be for you two to get shouted at I’m not willing to sacrifice your lives for laughs.”

“Oh, Crowley, I always knew you liked us.” Charlie squealed and hugged him tightly.

Crowley squirmed in her embrace. “Yeah, that’s fantastic. Now, let me go, you’re breakfast is turning into coal.”

* * *

“You know it’s not going to work, do you?” Sam asked later that day. Charlie had decided to fill him in with the plan so he would help keep Dean occupied until the dinner. “Dean will be totally embarrassed. It will only close him off completely or at least slow down the whole thing considerably. You need to think of something else.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do but those two keep insisting that we need to act now.”

“…You’re all terrible matchmakers.”

“I’m a demon not a cupid.”

“None of us are cupids,” Aziraphale pointed out.

“But we all know that Castiel and Dean belong together. And apparently spending time together and making them jealous is not enough to make them admit their feelings to each other.”

Crowley sat down. Something was nagging him since Charlie decided to involve Sam. He knew that feeling. It was the feeling of an idea waiting to hatch. That meant that on an unconscious level he knew what to do in order to get Dean and Castiel together but his conscious mind was still far behind.

Crowley sighed. At times like this a glass of whiskey was always of great help. But the gang kept only beer in their fridge and Crowley hated the taste. As much as alcohol usually helped with creative thought process, beer was never a good choice for Crowley. It left strange aftertaste in his mouth and the American brands were always so light it was laughable.

The discussion about how to get Dean and Castiel together started anew. Only this time it was Sam who was shooting down all of the ideas, not Crowley. Charlie was still trying to sneak in some scenarios from movies or other kind of fiction but with each try they were becoming more and more ridiculous. Aziraphale disappeared somewhere. If only Kevin were there the scene would look almost exactly like it did a few days ago when Charlie and Sam were discussing when ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fell in love.

Crowley laughed a bit at the thought.

Soon after Aziraphale came back carrying a tray with cups of tea – the only thing the angel never managed to spoil.

Aziraphale carefully set the tray on the table Crowley was sitting at. He took wo cups and handed one of them to Crowley.

“Here you go, my dear. How is it going with the plan?”

Crowley accepted the cup. “As you can see, we’re back at square one. Maybe square two if you count the movie nights.”

“Hmm,” Aziraphale hummed in response. He was looking between his own cup, Charlie and Sam a few meters away and Crowley with a thoughtful look on his face. “You’re thinking of something,” he observed.

“I may have an idea,” Crowley admitted and as soon as the words left his mouth he figured out what was nagging him the whole time. “I have an idea!” he said lauder with more confidence.

Startled by his sudden claim Charlie and Sam stopped their discussion. Azirapahle smiled brightly and all of them focused their attention solely on Crowley.

“Let’s send them on a hunt together.” It was so easy. Why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? “You said so yourself,” Crolwey pointed at Charlie, “Dean might have fallen in love with Feathers when they were working together, alone, without Sam. Let’s make them do it again. They will be alone, without any of us to witness anything what they may consider uncomfortable. The adrenaline of the hunt will make them act on their instincts. I think it’s the best we can do.”

Sam opened his mouth as if to object but then changed his mind.

“You know what? It may actually work.”

“You have my vote here, Crowls.” Charlie agreed.

Crowley hissed at her, “Don’t you ever call me that again,” but he was ignored.

“Right, now we need to find a case for them.”

“I’m right on it!” Charlie opened her laptop.

It took only a few seconds for the device to start working properly. By the time Sam had instructed Charlie to look for something that would not be too difficult. Castiel wasn’t human for long enough to deal with those really dangerous monsters without his angelic powers and Dean wouldn’t let him go on an especially dangerous hunt.

“How about a ghost?” Charlie asked after a brief search through the Internet. “There’re some creepy things happening a an abandoned old house just a few towns away.”

“That’s perfect. Let’s collect data and call Dean and Cas!” Sam agreed immediately.

Crowley felt pretty proud of himself. Of course, it wasn’t his usual kind of thing – making two people admit their feelings towards each other instead of buying their souls in some kind of a deal – but it wasn’t that bad. And he got to get rid of the duo for a couple of days which was always nice. Also, since he was the one who came up with the idea if Dean and Castiel get together most of the credit would go to him. That would get him at least few points with the younger Winchester.

The data on the case was quickly printed. Sam grabbed the papers and arranged them in order from the most important to those that don’t really matter but still contained some information. However, before he managed to leave in search of his brother, Charlie stopped him.

“Wait, I just got a mail from our angel website. There’s an angel who needs us. He says he tried to live on his own but it’s too much for him.”

“That’s great! We can send Cas and Dean on a hunt while you and I will take care of the angel. Dean won’t suspect a thing when we send him alone with Cas if we say we have an angel to help.”

“Great! I will go get my things. Meet you in the garage?”

“Sure!”

With that both Charlie and Sam left the room leaving Crowley and Aziraphale alone with their teas.

“Do you think it will work?” Aziraphale asked.

“I certainly hope so. I don’t think I can come up with any more sappy ideas for the next century. And here I thought that I would make a great director if I only tried.”

Aziraphale didn’t ask for details. He just kept drinking his tea until there was none left in his cup.

“So, what do you want to do now?”

“Hm?” Crowley who was deep in his thoughts didn’t catch the question.

“They left us alone in the bunker. Or they are going to. Charlie said something about taking Kevin with them as they were leaving the room. What do you want to do?”

Crowley considered the question.

“I think I may have a few ideas,” he said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing an end here, guys! :D I think there will be only two, maybe three more chapters.
> 
> As of this point this story is officially my longest English fanfiction! I'm so proud.
> 
> In the next chapter we can expect some action but I'm not going to tell you what kind of action it's going to be ;p You have to wait and see for yourselves :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chaper is just a short interlude between the fluff and something else I've planned for later. I know I promised action but I had a terrible New Year's Eve and I just had to write something silly. The promised action will happen in the next chapter.
> 
> Anyway, Happy New Year to you :)

Crowley woke up with stiff neck, feeling groggy. His whole arm was numb after hours of being trapped under the weight of Aziraphale’s body. Crowley tried to get up and failed when a wave of dizziness hit him. It was then when he realized that full night of drinking wine in his almost human state was not such a great idea.

Last night, after Charlie, Castiel and Winchesters had left leaving Crowley, Aziraphale, and Kevin alone in the lair, Crowley had proposed that they should go and discover what was hidden in some of the locked rooms in the bunker. They hadn’t had the keys but as it turned out they hadn’t been needed. Crowley and, surprisingly, Kevin knew how to pick up locks.

In one of the locked rooms they had found a treasure. Hundreds, if not thousands, of bottles of wine had been lying on shelves so tall that they reached ceiling. Everything had been covered in a thick layer of dust implying that no-one had opened the door in quite some time.

It had taken a while for Crowley to convince Kevin and Aziraphale to indulge a little and try some of the wine but Crowley was once the King of the Crossroads and he knew how to make people do what he wanted.

A few bottles of wine had soon turned into a whole night of drinking and that was the reason why Crowley found himself sleeping on the floor in the kitchen between Aziraphale and Kevin.

Kevin was snoring silently hugging a half-empty bottle of dry red wine to his chest. Some of the drink had spilled onto the floor during the night making Kevin’s hair and clothes wet.

Crowley was sure that Aziraphale had fallen asleep at the table, not on the floor. The former angel must have either woken up and decided to sleep next to Crowley or fallen down and rolled there. Either way he had ended up sleeping on Crowley’s outstretched arm.

Crowley carefully pulled his arm from under Aziraphale and stood up. A quick look on the clock on the oven told him that it was already noon. Charlie and Sam were scheduled to be back next day morning and no-one knew how long it would take Dean and Castiel to finish up with the hunt. For now Crowley was left alone with Aziraphale and Kevin. Aziraphale and Kevin who would surely be in even worse state than Crowley himself. Oh, joy.

The kitchen was a mess. Bottles of wine, some full, some empty, littered the floor. There were puddles of spilled drink under the table and chairs. One of the bottles broke – Crowley had no idea how it happened, they were very hard to brake – and shards of green glass were strewn on the floor around the fridge. It was beautiful.

Crowley went back to his room and burrowed himself deep in his blanket. Let Kevin and Aziraphale worry about the mess, he was still tired. Soon after, he fell asleep.

* * *

Next time Crowley woke up, the headache was gone. In a lot better mood than previously, he got up and stretched his sleepy muscles. Without hurry he changed his clothes for fresh one. He was amazed that he managed to sleep in his suit. At least he had taken off his shoes before going to bed.

Next, Crowley watered his plant, made the bed and without hurry he headed to the kitchen.

Aziraphale and Kevin were still sleeping on the floor. The clock on the oven showed that it was one o'clock. Crowley had barely slept for less than an hour. The part of him that was still a demon must have helped him with the hangover.

Kevin slept soundly. The bottle he had been hugging had fallen out of his grasp and even more wine had been spilled around the boy.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, was shivering.

Crowley cursed himself. How could he have forgotten?! The angels weren’t used to cold. Sleeping on a tiled floor must have been even more uncomfortable for Aziraphale than for an average human. No wonder Aziraphale had been sleeping so close to him.

Crowley rushed out of the kitchen to find a blanket. He grabbed some horrid fluffy creation from Charlie’s bed – her room was the closest to the kitchen – and quickly returned back to the shivering angel. Crowley gently put the blanket over his chubby frame.

Content with his work, Crowley left the kitchen again.

* * *

Kevin and Aziraphale came around a few hours later.

“You look terrible,” Crowley greeted them looking up from the book he was reading. “Didn’t sleep well?”

Kevin glared at him. The boy rubbed his temples and slumped over the chair.

“I am never drinking again,” he whined.

“I've never known a hangover could be such a dreadful thing,” Aziraphale added quietly.

Crowley chuckled. “Welcome to being human. For your information the hangover from drinking too much wine is said to be the worst kind of hangover. So we can say that you will have the worst behind you in a few hours.”

Aziraphale only groaned in response. He fell gracelessly on a chair next to Kevin. He folded his arms on the table and hid his face.

Crowley couldn’t help himself and asked teasingly: “Too bright for you?”

He didn’t get any answer. He didn’t expect any either.

“We're dehydrated. We need to drink something,” Kevin said. “But I have no strength to get up.”

“We were drinking all night. I don’t want to drink anymore,” Aziraphale muttered.

“He means water,” Crowley explained. “Though more alcohol is thought to be quite a good remedy for hangover it only puts off the inevitable and makes the headache even worse. Unless it’s Bloody Mary but we don’t have the ingredients. But I know some other tricks. I will pour you some orange juice and make some hangover food for breakfast but in return you will have to clean the kitchen later, deal?”

“Do we have to kiss?” Aziraphale asked, remembering their previous conversation about deals. “My mouth hurts. I don’t think I can kiss now.”

“I will let it slide this time.” Aziraphale and Kevin were proving to be quite entertaining even in such miserable states. And Crowley could behave quite generous when he was entertained.


	9. Update

I'm sorry but it's not the next chapter. I know you've been waiting so long and I'm very sorry to disappoint you.

I completely forgot that January is the month of exams in Univesities in Poland [together with February but fortunately I don't have any exams next month] and I hoped that after those exams I will finally have some time to write. As it turns out I do have time but my computer died earlier this week. I hope I will have it fixed next week but I cannot guarantee anything.

Once again, I'm very sorry.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long but I'm back :)
> 
> My laptop is fixed [as much as it can be, it will never be fully fixed but it's working and I can write which is enough] and I will finish this story, no matter what! Besides, we're nearing the end :)
> 
> Again, sorry for the delay. Next chapter should be here sooner.

The kitchen was spotless. Days of cleaning after himself taught Aziraphale well. Crowley was surprisingly proud of his protégé. Kevin had helped too but Crowley didn’t really care that much about his input.

After their cleaning duty both Aziraphale and Kevin left to rest a tad more. There were still hung over.

Aziraphale was in no state for his cooking lessons. On good days his dishes were hardly edible and Crowley didn’t want to try anything the former angel made while feeling like that. The demon was sure it would result in food-poisoning at least. Ordering dinner was also out of question. No take-out restaurants delivered food to their bunker as most of the locals thought the place was haunted.

That left Crowley with no other option but to cook the dinner by himself.

Crowley loved cooking. Ha was good at it and proud of it – after all, gluttony was one of the seven deadly sins.

After a few hours of work – he had time and ingredients so he decided to make something fancy – the table was set. As there were still no signs of either Charlie’s group or the love-birds coming back anytime soon, Crowley set the table only for himself, Aziraphale and Kevin.

The food looked delicious and tasted even better. Well, he was ‘one hell of a cook’ so to speak. It was time to call Aziraphale and Kevin for the meal.

Only, there was a little problem with that. Aziraphale and Kevin were resting in their rooms, which were located on the other side of the bunker and Crowley’s chain… well, it wasn’t long enough.

Crowley looked at his ankle. Silver chain was still locked firmly in its place, held there by spells and covered in seals. It was everyday sight but today it felt different. For some reason that simple nuisance made him snap. In a rare moment of loosing his temper, Crowley shouted incoherently and tugged violently on the chain.

The bloody chain that the bloody Winchester’s put on him like a leash on a dog. He was not their bloody pet for them to treat him like that. He was the King of Hell! Or, most likely, _had been_ the King. By now Abaddon must have taken control over his kingdom. The thought only made Crowley even more furious.

What had become of him? He used to be so much more than that. He had been cunning, ambitious, he was the best of his kind! And now? Now he really was just a pet. Or maybe a butler even. Cooking? For an angel and a Prophet? What diabolic purpose did he have in that? None. He did it just because. No one asked him to, no one promised him anything in return. What about the cooking lessons? By now he would have to be stupid not to notice that they didn’t bring him any favors with the Winchesters. He sacrificed his time and taste buds to get nothing in return. Of course, it was not all unpleasant – Charlie and Aziraphale were quite good companions – but Crowley felt as if he had just wasted his time. Instead of cooking he could have been doing something more productive like looking for counter-spells for the ones placed on his chain. He had access to the Men of Letters’ library, for someone’s sake! There must be some magic books he could use to get free.

Realizing his stupidity, Crowley kicked the table. He spent so much time playing home with the chubby angel and the human queen of nerds that he had forgotten who he was and what was he supposed to be doing. He needed to get out of the bunker, away from the Winchesters and take back his throne.

Crowley turned around, ready to go to the library and do some research. To hell with the dinner, he wanted his freedom back!

Aziraphale stood in the entrance. With worried eyes, he looked anxiously at Crowley.

“Is everything all right, my dear?”

Suddenly, Crowley felt like laughing. And he did just that. But his laugh was bitter.

“Everything’s perfect. Nothing to worry your pretty little angel head for. Now, excuse me, I have some research to do.”

Crowley squeezed himself next to Aziraphale through the doorway and entered the library. The chain was jingling with every step he took and that made him feel only more irritated. Angrily, he grabbed the first book that looked like a magic book from the shelf and sat down at the table. Ignoring Aziraphale, he started reading.

He didn’t even get to finish the first page when a silent voice interrupted him.

“Crowley, what’s wrong? I saw you cooked dinner. Did something go wrong with it? Is that why you’re angry?”

Crowley laughed again.

“Need I remind you that out of the two of us it’s not me that couldn’t even make tea just a few weeks ago? My food is perfect, as usual. So stop bothering me. Go stuff your face with it or do whatever you do when you’re not pestering me. I’ve things to do.”

Aziraphale looked hurt but Crowley ignored him. The demon had already wasted too much time on the former angel. He hoped Aziraphale would leave him alone. As it turned out, he had no such luck. Aziraphale could be very stubborn when he wanted to.

The book in Crowley hands was snatched from him. Aziraphale closed it gently and put it on the table, away from Crowley.

The demon scowled. He was still angry and Aziraphale’s behavior was not helping him calm down. His nerves were strained and it was only a matter of time before another outburst. Only this time there was someone to witness it and who could get hurt. And if he hurt anybody, Crowley was sure the Winchesters would put him back in the dungeon, this time forever.

It took every ounce of his self-control not to attack Aziraphale at this very moment. Aziraphale didn’t seem to notice how close Crowley was to the breaking point. The question he had asked earlier was repeated again, in a gentle tone.

“Crowley, my dear, what’s wrong? What happened? Can I help you with something?”

Crowley breathed deeply and undid his tie a little giving himself time to respond and to calm down. He had to keep calm. He couldn’t deal with the consequences of loosing himself.

“Look, I appreciate your concern, really, I do, but there’s nothing wrong. So go, get Kevin, eat your dinner and leave me alone. I just want to read.” Crowley stated calmly but firmly.

Aziraphale still looked uncertain. To make his point, Crowley reached across the table for his book, and returned to reading.

“Won’t you be joining us?” The question was quiet and full of resignation, as if Aziraphale already knew the answer.

“No.” Crowley said simply, his eyes glued to the yellowed pages.

“Alright. If you want anything, just ask.”

With those words, Aziraphale left the library.

A long breath of relief left Crowley’s lungs. Finally, he was alone. He had time to collect himself and do the research. And after that, he would call off the cooking lessons. After all, they were just a waste of time.

* * *

Crowley didn’t know how long he had been reading. It was hard to keep track of time with constant artificial light for company. He missed the sun.

Sometime after his strained talk with Azirapahe, he managed to calm himself down. He was still angry at his situation, as he had always been and would be as long as he was stuck in the lair, but he no longer felt the need to shout and destroy things. Good, he had always hated this sudden anger outbursts.

For the most part, Aziraphale and Kevin left him alone.

A couple of hours after the dinner, Kevin visited the library just for a few seconds to get a book from the fiction section. Who knew Men of Letters would have fiction books in their library? And it was quite a large collection as well!

Aziraphale’s visit, on the other hand, was considerably longer. The former angel took a book from the shelf. Crowley looked at the title and was not surprised to see it to be a guide to Taoism. Aziraphale had mentioned he was interested in all kinds of religions. He sat at the table, across from Crowley.

In silence, they were reading for what could have been hours. Neither of them spoke. They didn’t do as much as glance in each other’s directions.

At some point Aziraphale let out defeated sigh and closed his book. Before he left the library, he turned to Crowley and said: “Don’t stay up too late or you will be tired tomorrow. The dinner was delicious so I thought I may make breakfast for you tomorrow and I wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“That would be lovely,” Crowley answered. He meant it to sound sarcastic but his voice was too soft to sound anything but grateful.

Aziraphale smiled at him. “Goodnight!” The angel said and left the room.

“Goodnight.” Crowley responded to the empty air.

The hands of the clock hanging on the wall reached the ‘12’ at the very top. Midnight was still early in Crowley’s opinion but for some reason the demon was tired. Exhausted even. His earlier outburst cost him a lot of energy and the – fruitless – research drained him completely. It was high time to go to bed and get some rest.

The three books Crowley had already gone through were lying on the table. Crowley didn’t feel like putting them back, so he just left them. Let somebody else clean his mess. After all, life is so much better when other people do your chores. He burrowed one of Kevin’s spare bookmarks and placed it in the fourth book, before closing it. This one looked promising. It had descriptions of some pretty powerful binding and shielding spells against most of the creatures, including demons. Crowley even found a spell to bind a human! He carefully learned it, ready to use it on one of the Winchesters sometime in the near future.

Crowley was ready to head back to his room when he heard door open. At first, he thought that it was Aziraphale returning to the library. Crowley looked at the table in search of anything that the scatterbrained angel could have forgotten. There was nothing. But it did not matter for the voice that reached his ears did not belong to any angel he knew.

“I’m sure you will like it here,” Charlie was saying, her voice ever excited. “We’re currently working on cultural studies with the other two angels that live here. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. We were just watching some classic movies up to this point.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “And we have massive library. You will find any book you need there to get to know humanity better.”

Their voices were getting closer and closer. There was no doubt the group was heading to the kitchen. Crowley still had time to return to his room unnoticed. Only, did he really need to? There was new former angel to torment in the lair. It was never to early to start his work. Besides, he needed a dose of fun and mischief.

However, he hesitated when he heard the newcomer’s voice.

“I’m sure I will enjoy my visit. Once again, I am deeply grateful that you have agreed to help me. I simply do not know how would I be able to deal by myself with this unusual situation.”

There was something strangely familiar about the voice. The inflection, how the angel composed his words. It sent shivers down Crowley’s spine but he couldn’t explain why. For now, he decided to get out of the angels way and solve the mystery later. His decision changed when he heard what Sam said next.

“No need to thank us, Barachiel. We’re always happy to help angels in need.” A blatant lie if you asked Crowley. The Winchester hated angels nearly as much as they hated demons. But it wasn’t what made Crowley stop in his tracks.

The angel’s name – Barachiel – Crowley knew it. And he didn’t have any fond memories of him. Castiel didn’t either.

Barachiel was one of the most loyal supporters of Raphael. How he survived Castiel’s slaughter when the latter angel was empowered by the souls from the Purgatory, Crowley had no idea. What he knew for certain was that neither Barachiel nor Castiel would be happy to see each other.

Crowley knew he should warn somebody about who Barachiel was but he couldn’t just go out of the library and let the angel see him. He would be putting himself in danger. Who knew what Barachiel was capable of without Raphael?

It was too late to leave the library unseen. Instead, Crowley silently turned off the light and hid himself in the shadows. Before Charlie, Sam and Barachiel reached the kitchen, the library was silent and seemingly empty. Crowley could only hope that no one would notice his chain on the floor – that bloody chain, the source of all of his troubles lately.

“Oh, look, there’re some leftovers in the fridge!” Charlie said happily. “You wanna some? You must be starving! I’ll reheat the chicken for you.”

Thankfully, she used the microwave. If she had decided to use the stove Crowley would have to have to step in to save all of them from certain doom.

Barachiel, from what Crolwey could hear, behaved all nice and friendly. But Crowley wasn’t stupid. He hadn’t became the King of Hell just because of his looks. From the way Barachiel asked about the lair and it’s inhabitants Crowley knew that the angel wanted to get strategic information. Unfortunately, both Sam and Charlie apparently thought that he was simply interested in his new temporary home and answered all of his questions in delight. How considered of them. If only they answered Crowley’s questions so eagerly but no! Crowley was always ‘plotting something’ and he ‘couldn’t be trusted,’ even while chained to the wall. Granted, it was true most of the time but that was not the point.

Crowley calmed himself down. He couldn’t let himself be carried away by his anger again.

From the conversation in the kitchen, Crowley deduced that Barachiel knew of all of the inhabitants of the bunker, including the very King of Hell himself. So much for element of surprise. Barachiel was, however, mostly interested in Castiel – no surprise there – and Aziraphale – big surprise here. Crowley had no idea what Barachiel wanted with the chubby angel but he didn’t want to find out. He needed to find a way to get rid of him, the sooner the better, before he could cause any damage.

The trio stayed in the kitchen for quite a while. At some point Crowley even considered getting Sam’s or Charlie’s attention and somehow signaling them what a dangerous guest they had brought to the lair. However, he couldn’t have been sure whether it was not Barachiel who had a clear view on the library entrance. If it was the angel who saw him first, who knew what he would have done. Would he attack instantly or ignore Crowley, not considering him to be a threat? Crowley couldn’t risk that.

It was long after two in the morning until Sam, Charlie and Barachiel left the kitchen. Crowley hoped that at least Sam or Charlie would stay behind to clean up but no such luck. Both of them left with Barachiel leaving the kitchen empty and dirty.

Crowley was left alone with no idea of what to do. All of the bedrooms were out of his reach. If he tried to make some ruckus in order to get somebody’s attention, he was sure that would alarm Barachiel as well. Crowley needed to be sneaky.

There were only few options left for him and he chose one he thought was best. Kevin was an early bird. He had always been the first one to get up and after that his first stop was always the library. Crowley would just wait for him to get up and warn him about the danger. He could only hope that Barachiel would play nice until Castiel and Dean return from their hunt. After all, it was Castiel that Barachiel was interested the most in.

Only, it wasn’t the whole truth now, was it? He was interested in Aziraphale as much as he was in Castiel. And that meant the chubby angel was in danger.

“Bollocks.” Crowley cursed under his breath. Now he wasn’t sure if Barachiel would wait until morning much less to Castiel’s return. Crowley needed to act now!


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I was sure I have already posted this.
> 
> The story itself is nearly finished. That means - I've already finished writing it and I was sure I posted it but as I can see now I didn't. Which is good because I didn't like the last two chapters and I am sure you wouldn't either and so I am rewriting them now. I will try to post it all within the next week or so.
> 
> Once again, sorry for the delay.

Crowley was no hero. Never had been. Even when he had helped to defeat the Devil he did it for his own reasons, not to save the world. He didn’t know how to be heroic but he knew how to be cunning. And he was ‘son of a witch’. Even bound, with most of his demonic powers taken away from him, Crowley could cast some simple spells.

The hours he had spent in library were the best investment he had made in a very long time.

At first he thought that dream-walking would be a good way to warn Sam and others about the threat. He wouldn’t have to do much, just prepare the spell and go to sleep. He would have to find Sam in his dream world and tell the Winchester who Barachiel really was. Piece of cake. Except, Sam had no reason to believe in his dreams. And it would take too long. By the time the spell would be ready and he would find Sam in the dream world it could be already too late to save Aziraphale – the longer Crowley thought about what Barachiel was planning the more sure he was that the chubby angel was his first target.

Crowley needed a different plan. One that would be fast to prepare and execute. Once again, the books in library were of great help. Especially the last one he had been reading. It contained detailed descriptions of some pretty strong binding spells. Some worked even on humans. And what were angels cast out from heaven, without their graces if not human?

As much as he hated his plan – it wasn’t as elegant and well thought as most of his schemes – Crowley prepared everything he needed.

Winchesters left their cans of spray all around the lair. It wasn’t hard to find one when needed. Crowley drew a binding circle on the floor in the kitchen and, just to be safe, another one on the ceiling a few feet away from the first one. He enchanted them both, as the spell required, with some special species, which the Winchesters held in kitchen cupboards – Crowley never bothered to point it out to them how stupid it was – and some demon blood. He had to use his own and that worried him. As much as he would like to deny it, he wasn’t a pure demon anymore and he had no way of telling if his blood was strong enough. Well, it would have to suffice.

All that was left was to lure Barachiel into his trap and keep away all of the others human occupants of the lair. Crowley looked at his traps again. Maybe he should prepare more of them, just in case. There were five humans including Barachiel in the lair and only two circles. The circles were big enough to hold more than just one person but Crowley wanted to avoid locking anyone up together with Barachiel.

A muffled noise broke off his musings. Crowley didn’t know what exactly happened but it sounded as if something heavy fell on the ground. What it was, Crowley had no idea but it was a sign that he had to act now. Barachiel was probably in action already and Crowley could only hope that he hadn’t waited too long.

Crowley turned off the lights. His efforts would only go to waste if Barachiel noticed the traps before he stepped in any of them.

With the circles in place there was only one thing left to do – make some noise. Crowley needed to draw attention to himself so whoever was roaming around the lair so late at night would come to the kitchen immediately.

Crowley decided that too much noise wouldn’t be good. Bringing all of the humans to the kitchen wasn’t his goal. He wanted only Barachiel. He opened one of the drawers and started to move around the cutlery. In the still of the night steel hitting against steel sounded thunderous. Crowley cringed at the sound but continued his ministrations until he was sure he had been heard.

Quiet, carefully placed footsteps could be heard coming from the corridor leading to the sleeping quarters. Crowley held his breath.

The first circle was painted right in front of the entrance. Crowley left enough space between the threshold and the trap for humans to safely go around it if needed but going straight was a sure way to get trapped.

The footsteps were nearing. Then, they stopped suddenly. Crowley heard a hiss of pain as whoever stepped into the circle hit the invisible shield.

There was no use in hiding any longer. Crowley turned on the light to see who he had caught. He had been almost sure it would be Barachiel but as his eyes got used to the light he saw not the former angel. Not the right former angel to be more precise.

Castiel was standing in the middle of the circle, rubbing his forehead. When he saw Crowley he shot him an angry glare.

“Crowley, what is the meaning of this?” He asked.

Crowley ignored the question.

“What in somebody’s name are you doing here? When did you come back from the hunt?” Crowley hissed. He hadn’t heard Castiel and Dean coming back. Was it possible that he had been so focused on his task that he missed their arrival? If so, what about Barachiel? Was he still asleep or…

“We came back just now.” Castiel answered his question. “Dean went to sleep but I heard some noise in the kitchen and came here to check on it. It was you, wasn’t it? What are you plotting, Crowley? Why am I locked in this trap?”

“You’re locked in the trap because you walked right into it, you fool. Don’t you worry, I didn’t put it here for you or any of your little human friends.” Crowley spat seeing the accusing glare Castiel was sending him. “Actually, it’s good to see you. You need to help me.”

“And why would I do that after you trapped me?”

“Because I’m going to release you. Besides, when you hear who I really wanted to catch, you will be begging me to let you help.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You’ll change your mind soon enough.” Crowley took a knife and knelt on the floor. Quickly, he scrapped part of the binding circle. “You remember the angel that Sam and Charlie went to bring here?”

Castiel nodded as he stepped out of the circle. Crowley took the spray and repaired the trap, adding just a few drops of his blood to strengthen the fixed part.

“Well, it turned out the angel is Barachiel. Which surprised me because I thought you killed all of the Raphael’s supporters.”

Castiel seemed as surprised as Crowley was when he had first heard the angel’s name.

“Barachiel… is here? Did he do anything?”

“I don’t know, I can’t get to the other side of the lair, remember?” Crowley tugged at his chain.

“Then why didn’t you warn anybody?” After he got over his surprise, Castiel was angry. “You could have told Sam and Charlie who Barachiel is.”

“And blow his cover of helpless human so he would try to attack then and there? No, thank you. Surprise attack is always the best tactic. He doesn’t know yet that anybody suspects him. He didn’t give his name in the e-mail and he believes he’s safe. We need to get him here somehow and trap him.”

“And then what? Kill him?” Castiel asked.

“What else do you want to do? Keep him here as a pet? I think that this position is already taken. Now go. Warn the Winchesters. And check on Aziraphale. Barachiel was suspiciously interested in him.”

The look on Castiel’s face changed to determined. “I will go to Dean first.” He decided. Crowley wasn’t surprised – when it came to Castiel, Dean was always the top priority. “Then I will see if Aziraphale is alright. Should I send him here, to you?”

“No.” Crowley scoffed. “Why would you do that?”

“I thought that maybe you…”

“Never mind.” Crowley interrupted him. “I don’t care. Just go and make sure everything’s alright.”

Castiel left almost immediately. Soon, his footsteps died down and complete silence enveloped the kitchen. Crowley was left alone with silence as the only companion.

Patience was not one of his virtues. Of course, he could wait when it was needed, but then he usually had some insight on what was happening. Now, he knew nothing. That made him pace around the kitchen. The chain was rattling with every step he took. This time, however, Crowley paid it no mind. He had more important matters to deal with. Like where the hell were Castiel and Dean?

A quick look at the clock on the oven told Crowley that barely two minutes passed since Castiel had left. It wasn’t much but by now the angel should at least be at Dean’s room. Crowley didn’t know where exactly said room was or how far away it was from the kitchen but the lair couldn’t be that big, right? Two minutes should be enough time for Castiel to get Dean.

Crowley decided to wait another five minutes and only then start to worry. It was a very smart decision in his opinion. He also ignored the fact that as a demon he generally shouldn’t worry about the wellbeing of some humans. After all, his own wellbeing depended on theirs. Who would keep the kitchen stacked if there weren’t any humans left in the lair?

Barely another two minutes passed when he heard an unsettling noise coming from the dark corridor. It didn’t take long for Crowley to interpret it as a sound of a fight.

Castiel never bothered to turn on the light in the corridor so Crowley could see nothing. From the grunts and hisses of pain as flesh hit flesh, Crowley deduced that it was Castiel who fought the unseen enemy and Crowley had a good idea of who said enemy was.

From his place Crowley couldn’t see who had the upper hand. He could only hope that Castiel was smart enough to get the idea to lure Barachiel into one of Crowley’s traps. Just to make sure Castiel remembered they were in the kitchen, Crowley decided to get his attention and make some noise of his own.

“Hey, Barachiel!” He shouted. “Remember me? It’s Crowley! I was in the _circle_ of Castiel’s supporters when he fought against Raphael!”

Crowley hoped Castiel got his hint or that at least his words distracted Barachiel.

The fight was getting closer to the kitchen. Crowley could see figures of both angels locked in a deadly battle. There was blood pouring from Castiel’s nose and a deep cut on Barachiel’s forehead.

When Barachiel saw Crowley, he bared his teeth in a disgusted sneer. Without stopping his fight with Castiel he growled: “Crowley, you demon scum! I will kill you after I am done with this traitor!”

“Oh, I don’t think bare _human_ hands are enough to kill such powerful a demon like me!” Crowley mocked. Make him angry – another good tactic to defeat an enemy, it kept them distracted. Unless the enemy was the Hulk. “Come here and face me! Unless you are afraid.”

It wasn’t the most elegant threat ever but it worked. Barachiel let out an enraged screech and turned away from Castiel. That second of distraction was enough for Castiel to strike. He kicked Barachiel making him lose his balance. The impact send the enemy straight into the kitchen. With the force he was going, there was no way he could miss the trap on the floor.

Barachiel saw the trap. He tried to stop and back up but it was already too late. Face first he hit the invisible shield that activated itself as soon as he fell into the circle. With a grunt of pain the former angel landed on the floor. Quickly, he stood up. His fist banged the invisible forcefield but, to Crowley’s relief, it held strong.

“Well, that was entertaining.” Crowley commented when Barachiel calmed down a little. “Now, what to do with you?” The demon reached for the knife that he had used earlier to release Castiel from his trap. Only this time, he wasn’t planning on using it to release any angel. More likely use it on an angel.

“How to cut you? Where to start?” He asked in a sing-song voice. “You can make suggestions if you want although I can’t promise I will respect your wishes.”

“Crowley, that is enough!” Castiel interrupted him. Then, he turned to Barachiel. “Brother, I do not wish to fight you.”

“A bit to late for that, don’t you think?” Crowley muttered but Castiel ignored him. Instead the angel continued:

“However, you hurt my friend and can’t let you go either.”

Crowley’s blood ran cold. Some people were hurt and he didn’t know who. It could be anyone. Castiel looked furious as he said that and Crowley had no doubt that whoever was hurt got hurt badly. And who Barachiel wanted to hurt the most besides Castiel? Aziraphale for whatever reason. _If Aziraphale was hurt…_

Crowley didn’t know how that thought was going to end or why it sounded so angry. At that moment, Aziraphale entered the kitchen looking rumpled from sleep and worried for some reason. His eyes scanned the kitchen but he didn’t seem to get the situation.

“Why is Dean lying on the floor? Did something happen?”

Before Crowley or Castiel could stop him, Aziraphale walked straight into the trap. Barachiel didn’t waste a second. He grabbed the chubby angel from behind. One of his hands took hold or both of Aziraphale’s arms and twisted them behind his back. The other clenched around his throat, nearly cutting off the air.

Holding Aziraphale as a shield Barachiel faced Crowley and Castiel.

“Let me out or he dies.”


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Change of plans - this chapter is not the last one. It's second to last and there will be one more. It turns out there is too much happening in the next part to call it just an 'epilogue'.
> 
> I rewrited this part 3 times and still I'm not fully satisfied with it but I thing you've waited long enough :)

Aziraphale was trying to get out of the deadly embrace. Uselessly. He was too weak and the lack of oxygen was slowing his moves. Crowley could see that as plain as day. The face of the angel turned red in a matter of seconds. The hands that were clawing on the muscular arm that was holding Aziraphale in place, fell down, hanging uselessly.

“You’re going to choke him!” Crowley said.

“So?” Barachiel asked, clearly not caring.

“If you choke him, you have no bargain chip.” That was the only argument Crowley could think of that Barachiel might actually listen to.

“True.” The assailant admitted. His hold on Aziraphale’s throat loosened.

The chubby angel gasped for air, his breath shallow and uneven. Crowley sighed in relief. Now, when Aziraphale wasn’t chocking to death, he had the time to think of some way to save him. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. Both angels were trapped in a human-trap and even if Crowley somehow managed to make Barachiel lose his hold on Aziraphale, they wouldn’t be able to get Aziraphale out without freeing Barachiel at the same time. They would have to either trap him immediately afterwards or find some other way to restrain him or possibly kill him. Since the only working trap was already in use and they would have to destroy it, the first option was out of question.

Crowley remembered the knife he was still holding in his hand. He had always been good at throwing knives. Maybe he should put his talents in use. Only, Barachiel was hiding behind his hostage. Crowley didn’t want to risk hitting and possibly killing Aziraphale by accident. He had never cared about any angel’s life before but there was something different about Aziraphale. Crowley didn’t want him dead. They still had movies to watch and meals to cook. And the cooking lessons as of yet hadn’t earned him any points for good behavior with the Winchesters. It would be highly inconvenient for Aziraphale to die now. He needed the angel’s help to get him out off that blasted chain for someone’s sake!

There was no other way but to find an opening in Barachiel’s defenses. Unfortunately, Barachiel was a trained soldier. He kept close eye on both Castiel and Crowley.

“If any of you moves suspiciously, I’ll break his neck,” he promised.

Crowley and Castiel couldn’t even move half a step without looking suspicious. Especially Crowley with that knife. However, the situation wasn’t hopeless. Barachiel, for all his dangerous assailant posture, looked lost. He had no idea what to do. It was obvious that he had never thought of the possibility of getting caught. He was desperately searching for an escape just as they were thinking of a way to beat him and get Aziraphale away and unharmed. These kinds of escapades required careful planning and you couldn’t think of anything if something kept distracting you. Crowley smiled.

“You know?” the demon started. “For an angel you’re really stupid. I mean, all angels are idiots but you could beat them all in any moron contest. I’ve heard you talking earlier, with Charlie and Sam. I know you want something from Aziraphale. You didn’t just come here to kill him, did you? He has something that you want and you won’t get it if you kill him.”

It was a complete bluff. For all Crowley knew, Aziraphale might have told Barachiel that he didn’t like his new hairstyle a thousand years ago and that was the reason why Barachiel came looking for him now – a petty revenge. However, when Crowley saw the look in Barachiel’s eyes he knew he hit the bull’s eye. The angel seemed stricken. His situation was hopeless – he was trapped with an angel he couldn’t kill unless he didn’t want what he came for as his hostage. And his enemies knew that.

“You see? You’ve already lost. So why don’t you just give up now? Maybe we won’t kill you then.” While talking, Crowley was very slowly circling the trap. Barachiel, so focused on him, didn’t even notice that Castiel was moving away from his field of vision. With a bit of luck, in a couple of minutes Castiel would be able to jump him and knock him out or something.

Except, Castiel had no weapons. He would have to defeat Barachiel by sheer force and martial skills if he possessed any aside from angel-blade fighting. Not to mention, Barachiel’s vessel was so much better build. Put side by side to Castiel he looked like a professional heavy-weight boxer standing next to… well, a tax accountant, for the lack of better comparison. Surprise was their only advantage.

“Or better,” Crowley continued looking only at Barachiel, deliberately ignoring both Castiel and Aziraphale, “tell me what you want. We will negotiate. I was the King of the Crossroads, I know how to make deals so that both sides are satisfied.”

“Like hell I’m telling you anything!” Barachiel spat. “I will never stoop so low as to make deals with demons. You filthy abominations should just all perish!”

“As you recall, your precious Raphael worked with me for some time. Do you also despise him?”

“And you betrayed him!” Barachiel screamed, tightening his hold on the prisoner in anger. Aziraphale whimpered his hands once again shooting up to claw at his captors arm in desperate attempt to free himself. “That only proves that you cannot be trusted,” Barachiel continued ignoring the other angel.. “You stab your allies in their backs as soon as you get the chance.”

“So you’ve come here to kill me?” Crowley guessed. “How… boring. Don’t get me wrong, I like revenge and all but I admire more sophisticated plans than that. If you want to kill me just come here and try. I will even let you out of the trap.”

Crowley took a few steps in the direction of the tram when Barachiel shouted: “Stop! Don’t come any nearer. I don’t trust you.”

“Fine,” the demon stopped in his tracks. Castiel was now perfectly behind Barachiel. “Have it your way. I wanted to solve our problem peacefully but if you are so bent on violence it’s your choice. And here are thought angels are supposed to be the ‘better’ ones but in the end you are just as barbaric as demons if not more!”

“You little…!” Barachiel was furious. In his anger he seemed to forget about the trap and his hostage. Carelessly, he dropped Aziraphale to the floor, ready to jump at Crowley. Crowley, with a smug face, didn’t even move an inch. Before Barachiel could move Castiel tackled him to the floor. Barachiel let out an outraged howl and turned his attention to his attacker.

Taking the opportunity, Crowley approached the trap. Inwardly, he cursed himself that he had decided to draw the seal on the ceiling. As he grabbed a chair to help himself reach the paint, Aziraphale scrambled away from the other two fighting angels. Fortunately, the trap was big enough so that he could safely sit at the invisible wall, away from the fight. He jumped startled when the barrier he was leaning on disappeared when Crowley scratched the paint. The demon yanked him by the collar, away from the useless trap.

Barachiel and Castiel with more room to fight rolled around the floor exchanging punches and even bites. Hoever, the fight was uneven. Barachiel was bigger with more muscle strength and while Castiel was visibly tiring, he barely broke a sweat.

“We need to help him.” Aziraphale said. He was disheveled from his short struggle, his eyes round with shock from the unexpected situation but his voice rung with determination. Still, he was in no shape to help anybody. Crowley had to take care of it himself.

Crowley had never cared much for violence. He understood that torture was one of the most successful interrogation techniques in many cases so he used it. He knew that some people understood only the language of pure physical strength, as did most of the demons. However, he always preferred elaborate schemes to a head on attack. This time, there was no time for that. Armed with a knife, he approached the fighting angels. As soon as he saw the opportunity, he struck Barachiel right into his back.

Barachiel yowled in pain. He arched his back, desperately trying to reach the knife and take it out. Castiel scrambled from under his opponent and stood up panting. The wound on the screaming angel’s back wasn’t fatal but it was painful enough to prevent him from continuing his attack.

“You didn’t kill him.” Castiel stated and he looked at Crowley with inquiring eyes.

“Believe me, I’m going to do it. Slowly. But first, I want to know why he came here in the first place. Get me that chair over here.” Crowley pointed at the chair he had used to break the human-trap.

As Castiel went to retrieve it, Crowley hauled now whimpering Barachiel from the floor. He still had his demon strength and manhandling a man two times bigger than him came as no problem. Castiel positioned the chair right behind Barachiel. Crowley forcefully sat the wounded angel down.

“Go get some rope. We need to tie him up.”

“Are you going to be alright here?” Castiel asked, concerned.

“Who was the one who actually subdued our guest? Of course I’m gonna be fine! Get that rope. And, Aziraphale, you get the Moose and Squirrel if you manage to wake him up.”

“Of course, my dear.”

Both angels left the kitchen, leaving Crowley and Barachiel alone.

“Good.” Crowley commented. A sadistic glint appeared in his eyes. “Now, that we are alone, maybe you will tell me what you want from the angel, hmm?”

Barachiel clenched his teeth. The feeling of pain was etched on his face, soon after, it mixed with pure hate.

“I want to kill him. And you.”

“I’m not talking about Castiel, you moron. What do you want from the other angel?”

At that Barachiel smirked. “I’m not telling anything such a dirty scum like you.”

Crowley reached behind Barachiel’s back and twisted the knife still buried in his flesh. Barachiel screamed and would have fallen off the chair if Crowley hadn’t caught him with his free hand.

“Did it hurt? I believe it did. And that’s just twisting a knife. Imagine real torture. And I can torture people better that anyone. So you better tell me everything before I get salt and holy water.” Crowley said softly. The calm of his voice only made the threat more intimidating.

Barachiel looked unsure. He was panting hard from the pain and strain of the fight. His hands were free but he didn’t have enough strength to get up and fight, not against a demon. Crowley took full advantage of the situation and pushed a knife a few millimeters deeper. The action earned him another strangled scream. When the blade stopped, Barachiel sagged bonelessly on the chair. He put his full upper-body on Crowley’s arm who was still preventing him from falling face-first onto the floor. Crowley considered pushing him back against the backrest, however more pain at this moment would only cause Barachiel to faint and you couldn’t get any information from an unconscious person.

“Do you want to talk now or do we continue the interrogation?” The demon asked with a raised eyebrow.

The look Barachiel sent him was full of hate. Unused to feeling pain so strongly in his vessel deprived of his angelic powers, Barachiel’s resolve broke quickly. It was sad, actually. The fast-food worker angel, Samandriel, had more stamina than one of Raphaels lackeys.

“He was the Guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden,” the angel spat.

Crowley was surprised but he didn’t show it. Aziraphale was a perfect image of a bookworm not a guardian. But then again, Castiel didn’t look like a soldier of the Lord. As they say, never judge a book for it’s cover.

“What of that? The only interesting things that took place in Eden happened eons ago. Now it’s just a fancy garden with rare plants.”

“It’s not about plants. As the Guardian Aziraphale was in possession of the Flaming Sword.”

Hearing that Crowley couldn’t hide his feelings any longer. The Flaming Sword was the most powerful weapon ever created. Not only that, it could be used to open the Gates of Eden from any place in the world. And Eden was currently located in Heaven. If you find a way to Eden, you find a way to Heaven. With all the angels fallen and locked out from their home, the Flaming Sword should be the most wanted artifact. However, not many people, angels or otherwise, remembered of it’s existence and the power it possessed and even fewer knew who had had it in the first place. This must have been the only reason why there weren’t more angels looking for Aziraphale and why Castiel never suspected any problem with their guest. No wander Barachiel hadn’t wanted to kill Aziraphale. If Aziraphale still had the Sword, he was the only one who knew where it was and how to use it.

“Now you see why I need him. I just want to go home.” Barachiel said disturbing Crowley’s musings. The words were filled with such sadness that Crowley wanted to twist the knife again and push it deeper just to put Barachiel out of his misery and so he, himfelf, didn’t need to listen to his whining any longer.

“You could have just asked.” Aziraphale said. The angel was standing in the doorway with both Winchesters in tow and Castiel behind them.

Barachiel raised his head with great difficulty. His eyes were round and jaw slackened in astonishment. It was obvious the idea had never even occurred to him.

“I don’t have it anymore.” Aziraphale continued, looking guilty. “I gave it away.”

“You did what?” Barachiel explained trying to get up and failinf when the knife in his back moved with him.

“Well, God exiled Adam and Eve from Eden and it was cold outside and they barely had any clothing. They needed warmth and since they had no idea how to make fire I thought they would need some help.”

“So you gave them the Sword.” Sam concluded. Somehow, the younger Winchester didn’t look surprised at anything. Neither the angel with a knife in his back nor another angel who had had a key once upon a time to Heaven and gave it away to humans. Then again, he didn’t know what the Flaming Sword could do. He was for a surprise later when someone decides to explain everything to him. His moronic brother who currently looked completely lost. On the other hand, Castiel seemed not to care at all about the story. By the time Aziraphale explained what happened to the Sword, he prepared an ice bag for Dean to hold againd a nasty looking bump on his head which the older Winchester accepted gratefully.

Crowley facepalmed.

“All angels are idiots.” The demon muttered under his breath.

“No…” Barachiel whispered at the same time. He looked as if the whole world just crumbled around him, leaving him helpless and hopeless.

“Okay, that’s enough fun for today!” Dean said grumpily, holding the bag against his temple. He looked dazed and ready to drop any minute. Castiel stood cautiously next to him in case Dean actually lost his balance. One might think that after so many beatings the hunter must have gone through, he would have been more resistant to head damage but apparently this wasn’t the case. “Let’s lock him up and deal with him tomorrow. The dungeon is free. Take him there.”

“Dean, we cannot leave him with that wound in his back.” Sam argued. “That’s inhumane.”

“No matter what he did he is still one of my brothers, Dean,” added Castiel. “Sam is right. Barachiel is in need of medical assistance.”

“Arlight, fine.” Dean huffed. “Just remember that he is the guy who came here to kill you. You shouldn’t be so forgiving.”

“He _is_ my brother.”

“Just… just tie him up already. Sam, get the first aid kit.”

“Thank you, Dean.” Castiel said gratefully and went to do his job.

With nothing else to do, Crowley helped Castiel by holding Barachiel up. Aziraphale then cut the bloodied shirt exposing Barachiels back. Without removing the knife he started cleaning off the blood.

“For a person who barely can make a sandwich, you seem to know how to take care of a wound.” Crowley commented.

“I will take it as a compliment.” Aziraphale smiled in response. His hands, though, were unsteady and he looked shaken. The stress of the ordeal was slowly getting to him. Crowley realized that it must have been the first fight the angel was involved either in eons or ever. Seeing as his post was located on Earth since Eden, there was little chance he had ever had to fight. Despite being thousands of years old, the angel was still a novice.

“You’re fine here, right?” Crowley asked the Winchesters and Castiel.

“Yeah, we’ll take care of everything.” Dean answered. “You can both go now.”

“Good.” Crowley put his arm around Aziraphale's shoulders and started leading him towards his room.

“But… shouldn’t we help?” Aziraphale tried to protest.

“You heard them, they’re fine. They deal with this kind of situations daily. You, on the other hand, don’t. What you need now is peace and rest. Besides, I stashed some wine in my room after the last time. I think we both need some now.”

“I don’t think it would be wise.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you get drunk this time.” Crowley assured. He grabbed two wineglasses from the shelf and with that both of them left the room.


	13. Epilogue

“I still can’t believe we’re just letting him go,” commented Kevin as he watched the door closing after Sam and Barachiel. “He attacked you guys, didn’t he?”

“He wanted to kill us.” Crowley specified.

“Barachiel understands his mistakes now.” Castiel interrupted. “He _is_ my brother and _everybody_ deserves a second chance.”

“Quite right, brother.” Aziraphale agreed calmly. “Let us hope he learned his lesson.”

Crowley snorted into his cup barely avoiding spilling the tea on his shirt. Aziraphale was so composed and calm. It was nothing unusual and nobody paid it any attention. But Crowley knew better. The angel was furious at his brother’s behavior. When they had left kitchen after Barachiel’s failed assassination attempt, Aziraphale was shaking with his whole body. Crowley had first taken it as a sign of stress and fear catching up but it soon turned out the demon was wrong. Azirphale had been shaking with anger. As soon as he had realized his mistake, Crowley nearly burst with laughter but he stopped himself. It was unwise to agitate an angel, even one without power. Especially when that angel was friends with people who held you on a [quite literal] leash.

“That irresponsible, hot-heated… brat!” Aziraphale had said then, hands clenched into tight fists. “An angel’s mission is to observe people and guide them, not hurt them. At least he didn’t kill anybody.”

At those words, Crowley had lost it. Aziraphale had sounded like a parent who didn’t know what to do with a misbehaving child. If that wasn’t hilarious than nothing was. The look Aziraphale had given him, hearing his laugh, was murderous.

“You can scold him later, angel. Right now I still think we could use some of that wine.”

They had only drunk two bottles that time. Aziraphale, regardless of his righteous anger had been exhausted after the ordeal and soon fell asleep on Crowley’s bed. Crowley, surprisingly, had nothing against sharing it that night.

It took Barachiel over a week of healing before Kevin and the Winchesters declared him healthy enough to leave the lair. Much to Aziraphale’s disappointment. Ever since the attack, the angel took it upon himself to teach his brother ‘some manners’ as he put it. The lessons looked like a twisted version of torture through boredom for an outsider. Barachiel seemed simply miserable after each session and even Winchesters took pity on him and did everything in their power to hasten his recovery. Which wasn’t much, really. You cannot close a stabbing wound with a snap of your fingers unless you use magic.

The most disturbing part, however, and what made Crowley like Aziraphale more, was that the chubby angel seemed to draw some sadistic pleasure from lecturing his brother. Who knew such a gentle angel would have such a dark side to him? Crowley certainly didn’t expect that but that discovery was a nice surprise. The fact that nobody aside from the demon noticed it made it even more exciting.

“Sam and Dean are taking him to the airport, right?” Kevin continued. “Where is he going? So I avoid that place for the rest of my life.” The prophet added quietly.

“Asia.” Charlie answered brightly. “Japan to be more exact.”

“Good thing I won’t be visiting my relatives in China, then."

“Damn, I forgot I always wanted to go to Japan. Visit some otaku shops and all that… Why did I book him a flight to Tokyo?” Charlie cursed. “Maybe it’s not too late to change it!” With that she left the room, probably running for her laptop.

“Umm, I should go with her in case she changes it for some place I would actually care to visit.” Kevin ran after her.

"I... will go with them." Castiel decided suddenly and also left the room.

“What lively kids they are.” Aziraphale chuckled good-naturedly.

“Don’t you think you should go with them? They may change it to England.”

The angel considered his words for a few seconds. “I do not think that would be necessary. Charlie is a very considerate person. Besides… if Barachiel ever decides to pay me a visit I would gladly accept it. I don’t believe the lessons sunk in as they should. He would benefit from some more.”

“Poor bastard.” Crowley laughed.

“What? I can be a very hospitable host!”

“And a very strict teacher.”

“It’s not a bad thing.”

“Of course it isn’t.”

Aziraphale huffed and took a sip of his tea. After a few moments of silence he said: “I think I should too go away soon. I need to go back to my shop. The dust that gathered on my books probably reaches the ceiling by now.”

“Oh,” as all Crowley could say. He felt slightly disappointed that the angel was going to leave. He almost forgot that the other man only lived with them in the lair temporarily. He had his own home to go back to. His own life. Far away from the Winchesters, Crowley and the constant dangers that seemed to follow them everywhere they went. A calm, probably boring, life. “Well, can’t say I’m going to miss you.”

“And here I though I would invite you to visit me when you have some time to spare.” Aziraphale sighed in feigned disappointment. “Oh, well. I suppose such an important demon as yourself has no time for such trivial things.”

“Ha, ha, very funny.” Crowley loved sarcasm but only when it came from him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there is that tiny thing keeping me here. It’s called a chain and as a matter of fact it’s currently securing my ankle to the bedroom wall. The Winchesters are not going to take it off any time soon.”

“You’re clever. You will think of something. And I will help as long as I’m here. So, what do you say? My invitation still stands.”

Crowley smiled, his good mood returning in a matter of seconds. “If you wish to see me so badly, I guess I have no choice. I accept your invitation. But you have to learn to cook properly by that time. Or, just to be on the safe side, when I visit you, we’re going to Ritz. My treat.”

“What a generous offer. Where is the catch?”

Crowley shrugged. “It’s only natural I would offer something in exchange for the invitation. So, do we have a deal?”

Aziraphale pondered on his words but quickly agreed. “It’s a deal.”

“Well, I usually seal deals with a kiss.” He said his, at this point usual, response, grinning seductively. To his astonishment, Aziraphale leaned towards him and gave him a quich pech on the lips.

To say, Crowley didn’t expect that was an understatement. However, he always prided himself on his wits and not missing a beat he scowled and admonished:

“That’s not a real kiss.”

“It isn’t?” Aziraphale seemed to lose his confidence. “How then…”

“This is how you kiss.”

Crowley put a hand at the back of the other’s head. Gently but firmly he brought their mouths together. When they touched, Crowley gave Aziraphale a couple of seconds to accommodate t the new feeling. Then, he started working his lips against the other pair with the angel quickly copying his moves. When they finally parted Aziraphale was red as a tomato. Crowley couldn’t help but grin at the awestruck expression on the other’s face.

“Now we have a proper contract.”

“Yes…” Aziraphale seemed a little out of it. Nothing strange about it. It’s not every day that an angel of the lord willingly kisses a demon. Crowley decided to give him a couple of minutes to cool down.

“Drink your tea, angel. It’s getting cold.”

“Oh, you’re right.” The angel took his forgotten teacup. However before he lifted it to his mouth he said: “I think we should make deals more often.”

Again, Aziraphale surprised Crowley. Even more so when he turned to him with such a bright and happy smile on his face that Crowley’s black demon heart throbbed deep in his chest. And the feeling wasn’t bad at all.

Crowley decided he liked Aziraphale’s surprises and so he smiled in return with his own sinister, but not really, smile and said:

“I agree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I have ever delayed posting such a short chapter for such a long time. The only thing I can say is that I am sorry. I couldn't think of any good way to finish the story and finally decided on this ending after months of thinking. Really, whis is the best ending any of my stories has ever had: nobody died, the pairing I worked on got together and they actually kissed. That was my first ever kissing scene up there.
> 
> You have my brother to thank for this chapter. He kept nagging me for the whole week to finish the story. You can thank him by visiting his youtube channel and liking his videos or subscribing here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCygBVgCyNxK4GY12CF5m2Cw
> 
> As of present, he only has a walkthrough from the game 'IB' but it's worth watching and the game is really worth playing [it's actually my favorite game, and you can download it for free, just google it].


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